mitt romneyhttp://www.desmogblog.com/taxonomy/term/2257/all
enCoal Baron and Major Ken Cuccinelli Campaign Donor Sues Blogger for Defamation, Invasion of Privacyhttp://www.desmogblog.com/2013/11/03/coal-baron-major-ken-cuccinelli-campaign-donor-sues-blogger-defamation-invasion-privacy
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/robertmurray.jpg?itok=Yey8m1vw" width="200" height="139" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Robert Murray, owner of the Ohio-based coal giant, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Murray_Energy_Corporation">Murray Energy Corporation</a>, <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Murray%20vs.%20Stark%2C%20Huffpost%2C%20Et%20Al.pdf">filed a defamation lawsuit</a> against a prominent liberal blogger and <em>The Huffington Post</em>. </p>
<p>Filed on September 25 in <a href="http://www.belmontcountyohio.org/common-pleas-court/">Belmont County's Court of Common Pleas</a>, Murray's complaint accuses <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-stark/">Mike Stark</a>, creator of <a href="http://fossilagenda.com/">FossilAgenda.com</a> and <a href="http://www.starkreports.com/">Stark Reports</a>, and <em>The Huffington Post</em> of defamation and invasion of privacy stemming from Mr. Stark's September 20 article, “<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-stark/meet-the-extremist-coal-baron_b_3948453.html">Meet the Extremist Coal Baron Bankrolling Ken Cuccinelli's Campaign</a>.”</p>
<p>Stark, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and David Halperin, former Senior Vice President of the Center for American Progress pushed back this week, <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Mike%20Stark%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss%20.pdf">filing a motion asking the presiding federal judge to dismiss charges</a> for the case.</p>
<p>Published in the midst of the heated Virginia gubernatorial race between Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe - one of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign chairmen - Stark's piece apparently struck a nerve with Murray, one of Cuccinelli's key campaign contributors.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Ken_Cuccinelli_by_Gage_Skidmore_3.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 246px;" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8px;">Ken Cuccinelli; Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Cuccinelli_by_Gage_Skidmore_3.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-stark/meet-the-extremist-coal-baron_b_3948453.html">In the piece published on <em>The Huffington Post</em></a>, Stark points to the $30,000 that Murray Energy has given Cuccinelli, as well as Robert Murray's campaign work on behalf of 2012 Republican Party presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Stark also covers Murray's call for the impeachment of President Obama at a recent speaking engagement, along with his firing of 150 workers after Obama's 2012 victory over Mitt Romney and the prayer he offered the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> public after Obama's 2012 victory. </p>
<!--break-->
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The rationale behind the defamation suit for Murray boils down to Stark and The HuffPost referring to Murray as an “extremist” and pointing to the firing of the 150 Murray Energy workers as a potential “fulfillment of a promise” after the 2012 presidential election. </span></p>
<p>“The Defamatory Statements…were published with malice…[and] were understood and interpreted by readers of The Huffington Post to be assertions of fact, not opinion,” says Murray's complaint. “These false and defamatory statements have severely harmed the reputation of the Murray plaintiffs [and have] caused great mental anguish and emotional distress for Plaintiff Robert E. Murray and his family members.”</p>
<p>To protect free speech and robust public debate, courts make it difficult for well-known public figures to sue for defamation or the related claim of false light invasion of privacy. To avoid those limits, Murray’s lawyers argue Murray is not a public figure at all.</p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“Murray is neither a public figure not a limited public figure in that he has neither voluntarily sought public or media attention, nor has he achieved such a status by reason of the notoriety of his achievements,” reads the complaint.</span></p>
<h3>
Plaintiffs: Lost Profits, Tarnished Reputation</h3>
<p>Of the 39 paragraphs in Murray's defamation charge count, nine of them argue Stark and <em>The Huffington Post</em> have damaged Murray personally and professionally and will end up hurting his company's profit margins.</p>
<p>“Publication of the Defamatory Statements has caused and will continue to cause Murray and members of [his] family to suffer great mental anguish and emotional distress,” the complaint reads. “Murray Energy's standing in the business community as a respected corporate citizen has been damaged by the publication of the Defamatory Statements.”</p>
<p>For Murray, it all boils down to the possibility of the loss of cold, hard cash.</p>
<p>“Publication of the Defamatory Statements will cause lenders to be less willing to engage in financing transactions with the Murray Plaintiffs, thereby preventing them from gainging access to capital needed to operate their businesses or making it more difficult and expensive for them to obtain such capital,” reads the complaint. <span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“Publication of the Defamatory Statements will cause the Murray Plaintiffs to suffer a loss of business opportunities and loss of potential and/or existing customers for their businesses.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In all, Murray has asked Stark and HuffPost for over $75,000 in damages, plus paying the court fees and costs of Murray's attorneys.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Murray is represented by <a href="http://www.fabianlaw.com/attorneys/profile/Kevin-Anderson">Kevin Anderson of Fabian <span class="amp">&amp;</span> Clendenin</a>, who sits on the Utah Mining Association's Executive Committee, as well as by two attorneys from Murray's in-house counsel and <a href="http://www.porterwright.com/mark_stemm/">Mark Stemm of Porter Wright Morris <span class="amp">&amp;</span> Arthur</a>. </span></p>
<h3>
Stark's Attorneys Issue Motion to Dismiss</h3>
<p>On November 1, attorneys representing Mike Stark <span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">hit back. </span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">(The HuffPost has its own set of attorneys working on its behalf who will respond soon.)</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">They have requested that the judge of record for the case issue an order to dismiss the case on its face, also asking the judge for a date in court to hear out an oral argument between Stark and the Murray Plaintiffs on the motion to dismiss.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Stark's motion was brought to the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, where the case was removed from the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas, the site Murray originally brought his complaint to. </span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="caps">ACLU</span> of Ohio and Halperin open up the motion to dismiss with a bang.</span></p>
<p><img alt="" src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/David_Halperin_staff_photo.jpg" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em; width: 175px; height: 175px;" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8px;">David Halperin; Photo Credit: <a href="http://genprogress.org/about/bio/david-halperin/">Generation Progress</a> </span></p>
<p>“Stark’s article contains no false statements of fact, nor is it misleading, nor does it place Murray in a false light,” they wrote. “More importantly, for purposes of this Motion to Dismiss, the statements in the article about which Plaintiffs complain are not assertions of fact. Rather, the Complaint takes issue only with opinions offered by Stark in the article.”</p>
<p>The rest of the argument tackles the distinction between a straightforward news piece and the opinion-based nature of Stark's article and pieces published in <em>The Huffington Post</em>. </p>
<p>Citing a litany of cases, Stark's attorneys point to a simple fact: Opinion pieces both in the state of Ohio and as enshrined by the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Supreme Court are essentially legally immune from defamation suits. </p>
<p>“Stark is a persistent, aggressive critic of the coal industry, political conservatives, and others, and an advocate for policy reforms. Thus, the immediate context factor strongly favors viewing Stark’s statements in the article as opinion, not fact,” the attorneys argue in the motion to dismiss. “<span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The Court may take judicial notice that the Huffington Post blog is a well-known forum for people to write opinion articles – the online equivalent of a newspaper editorial page.”</span></p>
<p>The defense also fends off Murray's attorneys bringing a defamation suit while at the same time saying he's not a famous individual.</p>
<p>“[This lacks both] factual support and it is directly contradicted by the Complaint as a whole,” argued the defense. “Murray is the well-known head of one of the country’s largest corporations, and he has, by his own admission, deliberately asserted himself into public controversies about public policy, politics, and elections.”</p>
<p>In order for Murray's complaint to prevail, he must prove “actual malice” on Stark's part, the defense argues. They don't think Murray's attorneys complaint passes that legal bar and therefore the case should be dismissed out of hand.</p>
<p>“Even if the Complaint were interpreted to allege false statements of fact, this Court should dismiss for the additional reason that Complaint does not allege any facts to support the assertion that Stark acted with actual malice, that is, with knowledge that a statement was false or with reckless disregard for whether a statement was false – the legal threshold for a defamation claim brought by a public figure,” reads the motion to dismiss.</p>
<h3>
Defamation Lawsuits as <span class="caps">SLAPP</span> Lawsuits</h3>
<p>This isn't Murray's first time bringing a defamation lawsuit against a journalist. </p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Rather, it's the continuation of a trend of using suits of this sort as a bludgeon to intimidate journalists from writing stories shedding his actions both as an individual and owner of a major coal corporation in a negative light.</span></p>
<p>TransCanada - owner of the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/5857">Keystone <span class="caps">XL</span></a> tar sands <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2013/07/11/keystone-xl-the-key-to-crude-exports-new-report/">export pipeline</a> - has used similar legal tactics, <a href="http://cldc.org/2013/01/28/release-tar-sands-oil-pipeline-lawsuit-settled-in-texas/">utilizing the Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (<span class="caps">SLAPP</span>)</a> in its attempt to halt <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/10535">Tar Sands Blockade</a> activists from committing acts of non-violent civil disobedience in Oklahoma and Texas in its attempt to fend off construction of <a href="http://gulf-coast-pipeline.com">Keystone <span class="caps">XL</span>'s southern half</a>.</p>
<p>“[Murray] likely realizes that a lawsuit like this has the effect of diverting resources that a writer or activist like Mike Stark might otherwise use to expose and question the actions of Murray, Murray Energy, and the coal industry,” explained Stark’s lawyers. “This kind of lawsuit could also deter others from engaging in commentary and criticism about Murray and these issues.”</p>
<p>It's a classic case of the “chilling effect,” with the defense noting Murray has at least two other defamation lawsuits pending in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, also <a href="http://jimromenesko.com/2012/10/29/charleston-gazette-settles-murray-energy-libel-suit-by-publishing-op-ed/">filing suit in 2012 and eventually settling</a> with prominent <em>Charleston Gazette</em>‎ reporter and <span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">author of the </span><a href="http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“Coal Tattoo” blog</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">, </span><a href="http://priceofoil.org/2012/09/03/big-coal-plays-dirty/" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Ken Ward, Jr.</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p>“To the extent that this lawsuit may have the purpose or the effect of chilling free speech on matters of public concern, it is precisely the kind of situation the courts have sought to address,” the defense wrote in its conclusion.</p>
<p>Under the federal court rules, a response to a motion is due 14 days after the motion is filed, meaning Murray's attorneys have until November 15 to rebut the defense's motion to dismiss.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:8px;">Photo Credit: <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2012/09/03/big-coal-plays-dirty/">Oil Change International</a></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14265">Gulf Coast Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14266">U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14267">Malice</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14242">Murray Energy Corporation</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/662">coal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14243">Robert Murray</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14244">Bob Murray</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5975">coal tattoo</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14245">Ken Ward Jr.</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2632">tar sands</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5857">Keystone XL</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10535">tar sands blockade</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/13814">SLAPP</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14246">Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/13390">defamation</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/libel">libel</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10808">David Halperin</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14247">Campus Progress</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3084">center for american progress</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14268">American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/huffington-post">huffington post</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14252">Mike Stark</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14269">Stark Reports</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14254">FossilAgenda.com</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14255">Belmont County</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6303">Ohio</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1276">Virginia</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/oil-sands">oil sands</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14256">Court of Common Pleas</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14257">Mark Stemm</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14258">West Virginia Gazette</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14259">Charleston Gazette</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14260">Porter Wright Morris &amp; Arthur</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14261">Michael McKown</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14262">Gary Broadbent</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/13123">Kevin Anderson</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14263">Fabian &amp; Clendenin PC</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5140">Ken Cuccinelli</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14264">Terry McAuliffe</a></div></div></div>Sun, 03 Nov 2013 18:57:15 +0000Steve Horn7597 at http://www.desmogblog.comMedia Matters Explains Media's Climate Silence In Election Coveragehttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/13/media-matters-analyzes-climate-silence-election-coverage
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/break_silence.jpg?itok=_fQ9c-gQ" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Polls over the last year tell us that the vast majority of Americans (<a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kgrenfell/new_poll_americans_believe_glo.html">70%</a>) understand that climate change is taking place, with <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kgrenfell/new_poll_americans_believe_glo.html">54% saying</a> that they believe human activities are to blame. <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kgrenfell/new_poll_americans_believe_glo.html">72% of Americans</a> believe that the government should make dealing with climate change a priority. </p>
<p>Why then did the mainstream media devote more time to Vice President Joe Biden’s smile than to climate change in their coverage of this year’s elections? That is a difficult question to answer.</p>
<p>In the months and weeks before the election, independent media outlets were begging both candidates and the traditional media to “<a href="http://climatesilence.org/">end the climate silence</a>,” and finally bring up the issue of global climate change. Instead, we were treated to stories about Joe Biden’s smile and Paul Ryan’s workout routines.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mediamatters.org/research/2012/11/13/study-tv-media-covered-bidens-smile-nearly-twic/191341">Media Matters has released a new report</a>, detailing the issues that the mainstream press covered, instead of devoting time to covering an issue that, as the polls tell us, is of utmost importance to American citizens.</p>
<p>From the new report:</p>
<!--break-->
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Since August 1, the major cable and broadcast networks have spent just over three and a half hours discussing climate change in the context of the presidential election. But this was largely driven by <span class="caps">MSNBC</span>, which spent over two and a half hours on climate change – more than three times as much as the other networks combined. Outside of <span class="caps">MSNBC</span>, <span class="caps">TV</span> networks spent 51 minutes (rounded to the nearest minute) discussing climate change. By contrast, those outlets spent over an hour and a half discussing how much Biden smiled or laughed during the vice presidential debate.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span class="caps">ABC</span>, <span class="caps">NBC</span> And Fox Virtually Ignored Climate Change. In total, the three major broadcast networks spent just 15 minutes discussing climate change in the context of the election. The bulk of this coverage – over 11 minutes – was on <span class="caps">CBS</span>, which dedicated three separate segments to climate change and the election. <span class="caps">ABC</span> and <span class="caps">NBC</span> did not air a single segment on climate change in the context of the election. Fox News mentioned climate change 19 times for a total of just 13 minutes of election coverage – the least among the major cable networks.</p>
<p>These findings are <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/media-fails-again-climate-change-coverage-during-massive-heat-waves">consistent with previous reports that Media Matters</a> has put out, where they found that media outlets will almost always opt to avoid the issue of climate change.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, when the major networks and print outlets actually did discuss climate change, they left the discussion up to politicos and pundits, rather than actual climate scientists:</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">In election coverage of climate change, media outlets often turned to politicians and journalists rather than scientists. Scientists made up less than 6 percent of <span class="caps">TV</span> guests and just 5 percent of those quoted by print outlets on climate change in the context of the election. <span class="caps">ABC</span>, <span class="caps">NBC</span>, Fox News, <em><span class="caps">USA</span> Today</em>, <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, <em>San Jose Mercury News</em>, <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal</em>, <em>Denver Post</em>, <em>Dallas Morning News</em> and the <em>St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay Times</em>, and the <em>Des Moines Register</em> did not interview or quote a single scientist on climate change.</p>
<p>Sadly, the problems don’t end with the ignoring of the experts. Media Matters also points out that 63% of the coverage on climate change that casted doubt on the issue were not rebutted or covered in a critical manner, meaning that <a href="http://www.mediamatters.org/research/2012/11/13/study-tv-media-covered-bidens-smile-nearly-twic/191341">people like Mitt Romney</a> were allowed to cast doubt on the occurrence of climate change without the media outlets mentioning that there is a virtual consensus among the scientific community that climate change is very real.</p>
<p>Had it not been for Hurricane Sandy, it is likely, according to Media Matters, that climate change discussions could have been almost completely non-existent in the media. Sadly, it took a national tragedy to put the issue back on the media’s radar, and there’s no telling how long it’ll take before they move onto another hot button issue and forget all about the lessons we were supposed to learn from Sandy.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10799">Hurricane Sandy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5648">Report</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1399">Media Matters</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5445">election</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10382">News</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10968">Print</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9460">journalism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7712">Coverage</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6607">Bias</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10969">Silence</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2259">joe biden</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6679">Paul Ryan</a></div></div></div>Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:10:12 +0000Farron Cousins6653 at http://www.desmogblog.comThe Real Winner Of US Election – Dirty Energy Moneyhttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/07/real-winner-us-election-dirty-energy-money
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/oil-money.jpg?itok=pb0ETUsB" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>As Democrats crawl out from their election night hangovers, still riding the high of President Barack Obama’s re-election victory, it appears that a reality check is due. Obama might have won the election, but the battle was won by the dirty energy industry.</p>
<p>Sure, the industry went all-in on Republican nominee Mitt Romney, <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E01&amp;cycle=2012&amp;recipdetail=P&amp;mem=N&amp;sortorder=U">showering him with almost $5 million</a>, compared to a <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E01&amp;cycle=2012&amp;recipdetail=P&amp;mem=N&amp;sortorder=U">paltry $705,000</a> to Obama in 2012. But the industry knew better than to put all of their eggs in one basket, and they received a massive return on their investment in the down ballot races, particularly those for the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> House of Representatives.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E01&amp;cycle=2012&amp;recipdetail=H&amp;mem=N&amp;sortorder=U">According to OpenSecrets.org</a>, the top 20 House candidates who received money from the dirty energy industry were all members of the Republican Party. Together, these 20 Republican candidates <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E01&amp;cycle=2012&amp;recipdetail=H&amp;mem=N&amp;sortorder=U">received more than $3.6 million</a> from the industry.</p>
<p>Here are the top recipients of dirty energy largesse (all money sources via <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=E01&amp;cycle=2012&amp;recipdetail=H&amp;mem=N&amp;sortorder=U">OpenSecrets</a>, election results <a href="http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/results/house">via Huffington Post</a>), along with the results of their respective elections:</p>
<!--break-->
<p>John Boehner, Republican Speaker of the House: Top recipient among Congressional candidates of dirty energy money, with $361,299. Won his re-election bid by running un-opposed.</p>
<p>Roger Williams, Republican from Texas: $282,408 from industry, won election with 58% of the votes.</p>
<p>Mike Pompeo, Republican from Kansas: $237,750 from industry, won re-election with 62.5% of the votes.</p>
<p>Kevin McCarthy, Republican from California. $224,200 from industry, won re-election with 73.8% of the votes.</p>
<p>Eric Cantor, Republican from Virginia: $218,250 from industry, won with 58.6% of the vote.</p>
<p>Dave Camp, Republican from Michigan: $207,000 from industry, won with 63% of the votes.</p>
<p>Bill Flores, Republican from Texas: $183,256 from industry, won with 79.9% of the votes.</p>
<p>John Fleming, Republican from Louisiana: $177,900 from industry, won with 75.3% of the votes.</p>
<p>Steve Pearce, Republican from New Mexico: $171,350 from industry, won with 59.1% of the votes.</p>
<p>John Sullivan, Republican from Oklahoma: $167,050 from industry, defeated by Republican Jim Bridenstine in the primaries. (Bridenstine won election with 63.5% of the votes.)</p>
<p>Cory Gardener, Republican from Colorado: $162,300 from industry, won with 58.6% of the vote, with 87% of precincts reporting.</p>
<p>Michael Williams, Republican from Texas: $149,100 from industry, lost in the primaries for a seat that still went Republican in the general election.</p>
<p>Fred Upton, Republican from Michigan: $144,300 from industry, won with 55% of the votes.</p>
<p>Francisco Canseco, Republican from Texas: $142,701 from industry, lost to Democrat Pete Gallego with only 45% of the vote.</p>
<p>Mike Coffman, Republican from Colorado: $132,250 from industry, narrowly won his election with under 50% of the vote.</p>
<p>Mike Conaway, Republican from Texas: $131,050 from industry, won with more than 78% of the votes.</p>
<p>Jeb Hensarling, Republican from Texas: $131,050 from industry, won with 64.4% of the votes.</p>
<p>Joe Barton, Republican from Texas: $130,650 from industry, won with 58% of the votes.</p>
<p>Charles Boustany, Republican from Louisiana: $129,550 from industry, won with 44.7% of the votes.</p>
<p>Pete Olson, Republican from Texas: $129,400 from industry, won with 64.1% of the votes.</p>
<p>Out of these twenty investments, there was only one real loss to speak of, and that was Francisco Canseco in Texas, where the seat switched parties. But 19 out of 20 is still a major win for the dirty energy industry.</p>
<p>What’s interesting to note here is that the top recipient of dirty energy money, John Boehner, was running unopposed, so he didn’t necessarily need the money to fight an electoral battle. Instead, that money buys his loyalty, and that is exactly what the industry is counting on in the next Congressional cycle.</p>
<p>Big money, especially from the dirty energy industry, was defeated (for the most part) in the presidential election, but they scored enormous wins in other races. As a result of their Congressional victories, and even the money they threw to President Obama, it is likely that we’ll witness <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-president-barack-obama">another four years of either inaction</a> on climate change and environmental issues, or a backslide. </p>
<p>The dirty energy industry won, and Americans lost. Sadly, that scenario hasn’t changed in more than a decade.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5445">election</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6360">2012</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10906">Dirty Energy Industry</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6079">Money</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5756">Campaign</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10907">Loyalty</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10908">Bribery</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4170">John Boehner</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5665">Fred Upton</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8021">Finance</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2247">lobbying</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3632">lobbyist</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6654">Vote</a></div></div></div>Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:53:32 +0000Farron Cousins6640 at http://www.desmogblog.comExclusive: Tea Party, Fracking Industry Launch Astroturf Campaign Against Mansfield, OH Community Bill of Rights Referendumhttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/01/tea-party-fracking-industry-astroturf-campaign-mansfield-oh-community-bill-of-rights-referendum
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Mansfielders%20for%20Jobs_0.png?itok=eX4kQqdx" width="200" height="90" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Ohio is referred to as a “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_state">battleground state</a>” due to its status as a “swing state” in presidential elections. But another important battle is brewing in the Buckeye State, also set to be settled in the voting booth.</p>
<p>This battle centers around a “<a href="http://celdf.org/mansfield-ohio-first-community-in-state-to-submit-community-bill-of-rights-to-voters">Community Bill of Rights</a>” referendum in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansfield,_Ohio">Mansfield, <span class="caps">OH</span></a> and will be voted on in a simple “yes/no” manner. Mansfield is a city with roughly 48,000 citizens located 80 miles southwest of Cleveland and 66 miles northeast of Columbus, right in the heart of the <a href="http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/rpd/shale_gas.pdf">Utica Shale basin</a>. </p>
<p>Eric Belcastro, the Pennsylvania Organizer for the <em>Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund</em> (<span class="caps">CELDF</span>), <a href="http://celdf.org/mansfield-ohio-first-community-in-state-to-submit-community-bill-of-rights-to-voters">explained the rationale behind the “Bill of Rights” push in a blog post</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Faced with the permitting of two 5,000 foot deep injection wells in Mansfield by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (<span class="caps">ODNR</span>)…[t]he amendment would drive a community Bill of Rights into Mansfield's charter and then prohibit the injection of fracking wastewater on grounds that such prohibition is necessary to secure and protect those community rights. The amendment also recognizes corporate “rights” as subordinate to the rights of the people of Mansfield, as well as recognizing the rights of residents, natural communities, and ecosystems to clean air and water.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <span class="caps">ODNR</span>, in a study published in March 2012, <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/03/shale_gas_drilling_caused_smal.html">linked the 12 earthquakes that have occured in Youngstown, Ohio to injection wells</a> located in the city. </p>
<p>Though the “Bill of Rights” <a href="http://celdf.org/mansfield-ohio-first-community-in-state-to-submit-community-bill-of-rights-to-voters">has the full support of the City Council and the Law Director</a>, as well as the city's newspaper, the <a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20121016/OPINION01/210160321/Environmental-bill-rights-needed"><em>Mansfield News Journal</em></a>, one faction in particular isn't such a big fan of the Bill of Rights: the oil and gas industry. In response to the upcoming referrendum vote, the industry has launched an 11th hour <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Astroturf">astroturf</a> campaign to “<a href="http://desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities">win hearts and minds</a>” of those voters still on the fence as it pertains to the “Bill of Rights” in the week before the election. </p>
<p><em>DeSmogBlog</em> has obtained images of flyers distributed via a well-coordinated direct mail campaign conducted by the oil and gas industry in Mansfield, made public here for the first time in an exclusive investigation.</p>
<!--break-->
<h3>
“Mansfielders for Jobs,” Front Group, Leads Astroturf Charge</h3>
<p>At the metaphorical 11th hour of the Mansfield referendum campaign, literally in the week before the vote is set to take place, a new group rose out of the dust called “Mansfielders for Jobs.” The group isn't traceable via LexisNexis or Factiva and has only been written about by the <em>Mansfield News Journal</em> on three occasions. </p>
<p>An Oct. 30 <em>News Journal </em>article <a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20121030/NEWS03/310300012/Anti-bill-rights-flyers-dominate-public-forum">explains</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A group called Mansfielders for Jobs, which has not filed any campaign spending forms locally with the Richland County Board of Elections, has distributed a flyer [obtained by <em>DeSmog</em>] arguing the charter amendment would <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Mansfielders%20for%20Jobs%20Ad.jpg">do nothing to improve the environment</a>, and contains “vague wording” that would open the door for costly lawsuits that could hurt local small businesses.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Two days later, the <em>Journal</em> published a follow-up piece, <a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20121101/NEWS03/311010004?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom">further highlighting </a>that <i>Mansfielders for Jobs</i> distributed a flyer that “lists no contact address and no campaign treasurer.” That flyer obtained by <em>DeSmog</em> says the “Bill of Rights” will “<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/blogimages/Mansfielders%20for%20Jobs_0.png">hurt job creation in our city</a>.” </p>
<p>The follow-up piece offers one key hint at who the founders of the upstart “Mansfielders for Jobs” might be - <a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20121101/NEWS03/311010004?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom">it notes that <em>Energy Citizens</em> is another group distributing “vote no” flyers</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy_Citizens"><em>Energy Citizens</em></a> is a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Portal:Front_groups">front group</a> of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Petroleum_Institute">American Petroleum Institute (<span class="caps">API</span>)</a> and a public relations campaign dreamed up by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Edelman">Edelman</a>, an outfit well-known for, among other things, working as a “<a href="http://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/">merchant of doubt</a>” on behalf of Big Tobacco. That might explain why <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/API%20Ad.jpg"><span class="caps">API</span> has</a> also <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/API%20Newspaper%20Ad.jpeg">spent time and money flyering</a>.</p>
<p>And then there is the <span class="caps">API</span> <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/%E2%80%98energy-depth%E2%80%99-was-created-major-oil-and-gas-companies-according-industry-memo">front group <em>Energy in Depth </em>(<span class="caps">EID</span>)</a>. <a href="http://www.earthworksaction.org/"><em>Earthworks</em></a>' Sharon Wilson, the author of the blog <a href="http://www.texassharon.com/"><em>Texas Sharon</em></a>, refers to <span class="caps">EID</span> as the <a href="http://www.texassharon.com/2012/08/25/energy-in-depth-is-to-fracking-as-joe-camel-is-to-cigarettes/">Joe Camel of fracking</a>, appropriate given <span class="caps">API</span>'s Edelman ties. <em><span class="caps">EID</span> Ohio </em>has gone on an offensive against the prospective “Bill of Rights.”</p>
<p>“The activist organizations furthering these efforts are taking cues from out-of-state organizations that oppose the responsible development of fossil fuels at every turn,” Dan Alfaro, <em><span class="caps">EID</span> Ohio</em>'s spokesman, <a href="http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/communities-seek-ways-to-override-state-control-of-oil-and-gas-drilling-boom-1.332880">told the <em>Akron Beacon Journal</em></a> on Sept. 8.</p>
<p>Roughly a month later, <a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20121009/NEWS03/210090310/Mansfield-voters-will-decide-city-s-rules-fracking-waste">he told the <em>Mansfield News Journal</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>While this (charter amendment) is being marketed as a homegrown, organic movement coming from local concerned citizens, it is, in fact, a well-funded, coordinated effort being directed from a national organization opposed to the development of fossil fuels at every turn. This proposal … promotes a well-documented agenda under the guise of a local charter.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Two weeks later, <em><span class="caps">EID</span> Ohio </em>chimed in with a blog post written by Anne Carto.</p>
<p>“Clearly, Mansfield needs to be shown facts before making a decision to deter business from coming to the area,” <a href="http://www.eidohio.org/mansfield-law-director-misses-facts-on-injection-wells/">she opined</a>. “As <span class="caps">EID</span> has covered before, Mansfield, Ohio is not in a position to create regulations that will hurt its chance for a better economy.”</p>
<p>Alfaro, <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:RkT9hzAX8gcJ:www.linkedin.com/pub/daniel-alfaro/9/772/712+&amp;cd=2&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us">according to his LinkedIn</a> profile, formerly served as head of Ballot Access and as Field Representative for Republican John McCain's presidential run in 2008 in Ohio. His colleague Anne Carto, <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:A4ZIiThC1TEJ:www.linkedin.com/pub/anne-carto/50/897/8ba+&amp;cd=1&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us">according to her LinkedIn</a>, served as a Petitition Circulator in Ohio in the early days of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's run for President.</p>
<h3>
Barbara Walter and the Tea Party Patriots</h3>
<p>The most <a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20121102/NEWS03/311020006?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom">recent story</a> about the “Bill of Rights” in the <i>Mansfield News Journal </i>revealed that Barbara Walter, <a href="http://rcohgop.com/uploads/2011_RCRP_newsletter1Revised.pdf">head of the Richland County Republican Party</a>, is the head of “Mansfielders for Jobs.” Walter <a href="http://www.wmfd.com/local-news/singlesearchsingle.asp?story=41605">formerly was an organizer</a> for the <em>Mansfield Tea Party Patriots</em>, a stint she held until being offered the Richland County <span class="caps">GOP</span> Chair position.</p>
<p>On January 30, the Mansfield Tea Party Patriots hosted a forum titled, “<a href="http://www.meetup.com/WCO9-12/events/48803182/">Fracking and Injection Wells What Do We Really Know?</a>,” touting the so-called “benefits” of brine injection. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vETyR63Fpc4">three featured speakers</a> were <a href="http://ooga.org/about-us/boards-committees/executive-committee/">David Hill</a>, the Secretary/Treasurer of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association; <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:T_oLVCh695cJ:www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-chadsey/4/562/275+&amp;cd=1&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us">Michael Chadsey</a> of Energy in Depth Ohio and <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ar-tFMMEjiwJ:www.linkedin.com/pub/rebecca-simpson-heimlich/5/263/77a+&amp;cd=1&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us">Rebecca Heimlich</a> of the American Petroleum Institute. Chadsney and Heimlich <a href="http://www.mansfieldteaparty.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=453&amp;Itemid=176">spoke at a forum on the same topic </a>in April <a href="http://www.mansfieldteaparty.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=453&amp;Itemid=176">hosted</a> by the <em style="color: rgb(255, 205, 51); "><a href="http://www.napatriots.com/" style="color: rgb(255, 205, 51); ">New American Patriots</a> </em>in Ashland, <span class="caps">OH</span>, a <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=ashland+oh&amp;daddr=mansfield+oh&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=us&amp;panel=1&amp;fb=1&amp;dirflg=d&amp;geocode=FTybbwIdduwX-ymPkkV8TPs5iDGPJETASM4y7A%3BFXbsbQIdCeoU-ymHEop34uo5iDFWbywU-DoIYw&amp;t=h&amp;z=12">20-minute drive</a> from Mansfield.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.teapartypatriots.org/groups/mansfield-tea-party/edit-profile/"><em>Mansfield Tea Party Patriots</em></a> and <a href="http://www.teapartypatriots.org/groups/new-american-patriots/edit-profile/"><em>New American Patriots</em></a> are both local-level branches of the national-level <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tea_Party_Patriots">Tea Party Patriots</a>, a right wing front group started by <i>FreedomWorks</i> in the summer of 2009, according to a Sept. 2009 investigative report titled “<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100410052411/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/30219673/the_lie_machine/print">The Lie Machine</a>” by <em>Rolling Stone</em>'s Tim Dickinson.</p>
<p>Dickinson, in explaining <em>Tea Party Patriot</em>'s origins, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100410052411/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/30219673/the_lie_machine/print">wrote</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>After FreedomWorks orchestrated the original Tea Party protests last April, it ostensibly handed over the reins of the movement to a third group, called the Tea Party Patriots. But internal correspondence from the group's private listserv obtained by Rolling Stone makes clear that FreedomWorks is still calling the shots. <em><a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20121102/NEWS03/311020006?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom"> </a></em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>An offshoot of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy"><em>Citizens for a Sound Economy</em></a>, <em><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Freedomworks">FreedomWorks</a> </em>is the sister of another offshoot, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Americans_for_Prosperity"><em>Americans for Prosperity </em></a>(<span class="caps">AFP</span>). What was once known as <em>Citizens for a Sound Economy </em>was <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/citizens-for-a-sound-economy/">heavily funded by the Koch Brothers</a> and today <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/americans-for-prosperity-found/"><span class="caps">AFP</span> is still funded by the Kochs</a>. Frank Rich, former columnist for <em>The New York Times</em> wrote that “FreedomWorks received $12 million of its own from Koch family foundations” in an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/opinion/29rich.html?_r=0">August 2010 article</a>.</p>
<p>It's unsurprising then, that before her current stint at <span class="caps">API</span>, Heimlich <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ar-tFMMEjiwJ:www.linkedin.com/pub/rebecca-simpson-heimlich/5/263/77a+&amp;cd=1&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us">served as <span class="caps">AFP</span>'s Ohio Director from December 2009-November 2011</a>.</p>
<p>When asked in an interview with <em>DeSmogBlog</em> where the idea and money for “Mansfielders for Jobs” originated from and whether or not it was an actual grassroots organization, Walter would not comment, only <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/%2B14197563352%20on%202012-11-02%20at%2014.08.mov">stating</a>, “I don't know the exact date [of origin of the group], but my husband and I just feel strongly that this is bad legislation.”</p>
<p>Walter <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor.phtml?d=1004668897">gave</a> $6,025 <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor.phtml?d=1004666890">to Republican Gov. John Kasich</a> in the run-up to his 2010 electoral victory, according to the <em>National Institute on Money in State Politics</em>' campaign finance database. Kasich, a <a href="http://www.alec.org/about-alec/history/">formative member</a> of the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6907">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (<span class="caps">ALEC</span>) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_with_John_Kasich">former Fox News show host</a>, received <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor_details.phtml?c=117145&amp;i=33">over $332,000</a> from the oil and gas industry during his 2010 race.</p>
<h3>
History Repeating Itself </h3>
<p>This isn't the first time the oil and gas industry has deployed its astroturf batallion to fight back against a local ordinance at the 11th hour. </p>
<p>One year ago, <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/consumer-energy-alliance-front-group-exposed-tyee-and-salon"><em>Consumer Energy Alliance</em></a> (<span class="caps">CEA</span>) waged an astroturf campaign to defeat the hotly contested fracking ban ordinance in Peters Township, <span class="caps">PA</span>. <span class="caps">CEA</span> - an <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/consumer-energy-alliance-front-group-exposed-tyee-and-salon">oil and gas industry front group</a> - came out on the winning side of this one, a testimony to the effectiveness of its slick public relations campaigns. </p>
<p>The <em>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</em> <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/marcellusshale/election-showed-frackings-key-role-in-region-323689/">summarized the situation in Peters Township a November 2011 story</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Right up to Election Day, Peters residents were receiving sleek fliers in the mail encouraging them to vote against a referendum to ban gas drilling in the Washington County community.</p>
<p>The mailers weren't coming from local opposition, but from Houston-based industry group Consumer Energy Alliance. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><span class="caps">CEA</span>'s 2012 <a href="http://consumerenergyalliance.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/CEA-Annual-Report-2012.pdf">annual report</a> lists the 2012 victory in Peters Township as one of its chief accomplishments.</p>
<h3>
A High Stakes, Life-or-Death Game in Mansfield</h3>
<p>The stakes are higher than most would imagine in Mansfield.</p>
<p><em>ProPublica</em>'s Abrahm Lustgarten pointed out in a June 2012 investigation titled, “<a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/injection-wells-the-poison-beneath-us">Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us</a>,” that injection wells are a public health hazard in-the-making of epic proportions that hardly anyone is talking about. There are a staggering 150,000 injection wells in 33 states and 10 trillion gallons of toxic fluid have been dumped in them, <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/trillion-gallon-loophole-lax-rules-for-drillers-that-inject-pollutants">according to <em>ProPublica</em></a>.</p>
<p>“In 10 to 100 years we are going to find out that most of our groundwater is polluted,” Mario Salazar, an engineer who worked for 25 years at the <span class="caps">EPA</span>'s underground injection program <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/injection-wells-the-poison-beneath-us">told <em>ProPublica</em></a>. “A lot of people are going to get sick, and a lot of people may die.”</p>
<p>The battle in Mansfield - literally one of life and death - is on between corporate profits and scientific integrity. </p>
<p><strong>Photo Credit</strong>: Eric Belcastro | <a href="http://celdf.org/">Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-upload field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><table class="sticky-enabled">
<thead><tr><th>Attachment</th><th>Size</th> </tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd"><td><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="image/jpeg" src="/modules/file/icons/image-x-generic.png" /> <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Mansfielders%20for%20Jobs%20Ad.jpg" type="image/jpeg; length=2143211">Mansfielders for Jobs Ad.jpg</a></span></td><td>2.04 MB</td> </tr>
<tr class="even"><td><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="image/jpeg" src="/modules/file/icons/image-x-generic.png" /> <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/API%20Ad_0.jpg" type="image/jpeg; length=198094">API Ad.jpg</a></span></td><td>193.45 KB</td> </tr>
<tr class="odd"><td><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="image/jpeg" src="/modules/file/icons/image-x-generic.png" /> <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/API%20Newspaper%20Ad.jpeg" type="image/jpeg; length=55173">API Newspaper Ad.jpeg</a></span></td><td>53.88 KB</td> </tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10848">EID Ohio</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10849">Eric Belcastro</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10850">Akron Beacon Journal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6152">Sharon Wilson</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9712">Texas Sharon</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10851">Anne Carto</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10852">Tobacco Strategy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2398">big tobacco</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1267">big oil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10853">Tobacco Playbook</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10854">Buckeye State</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10855">Utica Shale basin</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10856">Marcellus Shale basin</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9816">Ohio Department of Natural Resources</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9817">ODNR</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10857">Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10858">Erik M. Conway</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/public-relations">Public Relations</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10859">Dan Alfaro</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10860">Joe Camel of fracking</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5086">PR</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/propaganda">propaganda</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5128">Consumer Energy Alliance</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10861">CEA</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/766">john mccain</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/naomi-oreskes">naomi oreskes</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10862">The Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5081">Merchants of Doubt</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10863">Mansfield Bill of Rights</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10864">Mansfielders for Jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5008">front groups</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4463">astroturf</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10865">Mansfield Ohio</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10866">Mansfield</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6303">Ohio</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10867">Youngstown OH</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10868">Youngstown Ohio</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10869">Ohio Injection Well Earthquakes</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10870">Ohio Fracking Earthquakes</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10871">Mansfield OH</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10327">OH</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5402">Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9800">CELDF</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9569">EID</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5976">Energy In Depth</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/643">American Petroleum Institute</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4499">API</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5156">oil and gas industry</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5565">shale gas</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7277">shale oil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6344">unconventional gas</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8931">unconventional oil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5133">fracking</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5137">hydraulic fracturing</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2800">natural gas</a></div></div></div>Sun, 04 Nov 2012 18:16:47 +0000Steve Horn6633 at http://www.desmogblog.comRomney Aide Andrea Saul Denied Climate Connection to Hurricane Katrina, Is Sandy Next?http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/31/romney-aide-andrea-saul-denies-climate-connection-hurricane-katrina-sandy-next
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/andrea%20saul%20wide%20shot.jpeg?itok=7XrAZLN6" width="180" height="148" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Over half a decade ago, <strong><a href="http://www.polluterwatch.com/blog/science-denial-and-andrea-saul-%E2%80%93-romney-2012-campaign-spokesperson">Andrea Saul</a></strong>, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's press secretary, denied any link between Hurricane Katrina and climate change.</p>
<p>Working as a hired gun on behalf of ExxonMobil at the Washington, <span class="caps">DC</span> <span class="caps">PR</span> firm <strong><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DCI_Group"><span class="caps">DCI</span> Group</a></strong>, Saul was listed as the contact person on a press release that <a href="http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&amp;STORY=/www/story/03-30-2006/0004330403&amp;EDATE=">denied that global warming is intensifying extreme weather events</a>:</p>
<p>“<em>Coming off one of the most devastating hurricane seasons in recent memory, many are quick to blame the strength and frequency of these storms on global warming. Leading climate scientists, however, say there is no link between increased storm activity and a massive change in global climate.</em>”</p>
<p>The 2006 Saul/<span class="caps">DCI</span> press release quotes the Koch-funded <strong><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cato_Institute">Cato Institute</a></strong>'s <strong><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/patrick-michaels">Patrick Michaels</a></strong>, who stated, “There are many more factors determining hurricane frequency and severity, some of which (such as westerly wind strength) should become <span class="caps">LESS</span> conducive to hurricanes as the planet warms.” </p>
<p>Michaels is a notorious climate change denier who stated in August 2010 on <em><span class="caps">CNN</span> </em>that <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/climate-skeptic-pat-michaels-admits-cnn-forty-percent-his-funding-comes-oil-industry">40 percent of his funding comes from the oil industry</a>. As with Hurricane Katrina, Pat Michaels this week <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/31/merchants-doubt-deny-climate-change-connection-hurricane-sandy">denied any connection between climate change and Hurricane Sandy</a>.<br /><br />
Will Andrea Saul, speaking on behalf of team Romney/Ryan, be next to deny that <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-01/its-global-warming-stupid">global warming added the steroids</a> that increased the devastation of Hurricane Sandy?<!--break--></p>
<p>Andrea Saul isn't the only Romney aide with a <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/romney-flack-promoted-climate-denial-behalf-exxon">connection to Exxon's former <span class="caps">PR</span> shop, <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group</a>. David Halperin notes on <em>Republic Report </em>that <a href="http://www.republicreport.org/2012/romney-advisors-saul-and-talent-tied-to-climate-denial/">Saul's colleague <strong>Matt Rhoades</strong>, Romney’s campaign manager, also worked at <span class="caps">DCI</span></a>, from 2007-10.</p>
<p>Every year, nearly 400,000 deaths are attributable to climate change, “mainly due to hunger and communicable diseases that affect above all children in developing countries,” according to a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/26/climate-change-damaging-global-economy">2011 report</a> published by <span class="caps">DARA</span>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Vulnerable_Forum"><em>Climate Vulnerable Forum</em></a>. On a parallel track, 443,000 people “die prematurely from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke,” <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/osh.htm">according to the <em>Centers for Disease Control</em></a>.</p>
<p>Obfuscation or denial of a link between climate change and extreme weather is as irresponsible as denying the link between cigarettes and cancer, yet both <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACkkl4k7SMk">Romney</a> and his running mate <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/11/677051/meet-paul-ryan-climate-denier-conspiracy-theorist-koch-acolyte/?mobile=nc">Paul Ryan</a> continue to re-fortify their posts in Camp Denial.<br /><br />
The question must be asked: how much of an influence do Andrea Saul and Matt Rhoades have over this campaign's ostrich-like climate denial? Their former employer, <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, after all, made its name in the <span class="caps">PR</span> world <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DCI_Group">working on behalf of the tobacco industry</a>.<br /><br />
Kert Davies, Greenpeace <span class="caps">USA</span> Research Director, writes over at <em><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/11/01/1125491/andrea-saul-romney-campaign-advisor-climate-change-disinformer/">Think Progress</a></em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Saul worked with a <span class="caps">DCI</span> Tech Central Station team that created fake <span class="caps">TV</span> newcasts that “reported” no connection between hurricanes and climate change. These tapes were distributed to Gulf state <span class="caps">TV</span> stations. The Saul tape and a Mississippi newscast that aired the piece were preserved by the Center for Investigative Reporting.</p>
<p>Watch it:</p>
<p><object height="338" width="450"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DXBqe7ngp24?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="338" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DXBqe7ngp24?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450"></embed></object></p>
<p>Unlike Saul’s collection of climate deniers, real scientists <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/climate-change-hurricane-sandy-global-warming_n_2050516.html">say this is dead wrong</a>. There is indeed <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/26/1097391/climate-change-frankenstorm-beyond-strange-unprecedented-bizarre/?mobile=nc" target="_blank" title="link">a link</a> between stronger hurricanes like Sandy and global warming.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong><span class="caps">UPDATE</span></strong>: An attendee at a Mitt Romney campaign rally today tried to get Romney to talk about climate change. Watch as attendee Ted Glick's “End Climate Silence” sign is ripped away and the crowd shouts him down with chants of '<span class="caps">USA</span>, <span class="caps">USA</span>'. (<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/11/01/1126361/confronted-by-protester-romney-maintains-climate-silence/">H/T ThinkProgress</a>)<br /><object height="309" width="550"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/43lcd11QUqo?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="309" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/43lcd11QUqo?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="550"></embed></object></p>
<p>Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.polluterwatch.com/blog/science-denial-and-andrea-saul-%E2%80%93-romney-2012-campaign-spokesperson">PolluterWatch</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5086">PR</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/public-relations">Public Relations</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/propaganda">propaganda</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9878">andrea saul</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/climate-science">climate science</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/657">ExxonMobil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1370">cnn</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10808">David Halperin</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10809">Matt Rhoades Mitt Romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10810">Andrea Saul Mitt Romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10811">Andrea Saul DCI Group</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10812">Matt Rhoades DCI Group</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8462">Republic Report</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10813">Climate Vulnerable Forum</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1396">pat michaels</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10814">Center for Disease Control</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2308">CDC</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10815">DARA</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/patrick-michaels">patrick michaels</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/cato-institute">cato institute</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4027">Koch Family Foundations</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5188">Kochtopus</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1800">koch industries</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9130">Koch Industries climate denial</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2040">hurricane katrina</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10799">Hurricane Sandy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/dci-group">DCI group</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10816">Tobacco Lobby</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10817">Tobbaco Lobbyists</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5081">Merchants of Doubt</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6679">Paul Ryan</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10818">2012 Presidential Election</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2214">climate change deniers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/climate-change-denial">climate change denial</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7481">climate change skepticism</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/climate-change-skeptics">climate change skeptics</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2352">global warming denial</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3063">global warming deniers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10819">Climate Warming Skeptics</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4216">global warming skepticism</a></div></div></div>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 21:00:42 +0000Brendan DeMelle6628 at http://www.desmogblog.comClimate Silence No More As Sandy Rips Through the East Coasthttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/31/climate-silence-no-more-sandy-rips-through-east-coast
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/2012_10_granspu.jpg?itok=oRVGawAx" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>There's a question I often pose to my undergrad students after discussing the many implications of climate change:<br /><br />
“Do you think we'll be able to change before it's too late, or do you think it's going to take some kind of natural disaster to get us moving?”<br /><br />
Unsurprisingly, most students choose the latter, although melancholically. It's not that they want it to be the case, but with all the data and warnings from scientists, up against the misinformation spewing from powerful fossil fuel corporations, they logically don't see it happening any other way.<br /><br />
It's the sad truth considering we're on the verge of a major presidential election and not once has either candidate discussed climate change or its potential threat to our country in the debates.<br /><br />
And while environmentalists and climate hawks rightfully shamed the candidates for not addressing the issue, apparently Mother Nature wasn't going to let “climate silence” continue. <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-after-landfall/100396/">Hurricane Sandy</a> slammed into the coast bringing the east coast to its knees.</p>
<!--break-->
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>I think part of learning from this is the recognition that climate change is reality,” said <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-death-toll-in-ny-at-26-gov-cuomo-blames-climate-change-for-inc"><span class="caps">NY</span> Governor Andrew Cuomo in the wake of the hurricane</a>.<br /><br />
It's unfortunate that in order for politicians to start acknowledging the issue, let alone addressing it legislatively, it's taken the Atlantic's largest hurricane on record (1,000 miles in diameter) to <a href="http://youtu.be/_Xkdv0H31d8">submerge</a> a 100-yr old subway system, decimate coastal properties, leave millions without power, and worst of all, kill dozens of citizens. Now they are forced to face the facts.<br /> </p>
<center>
<img alt="" height="148" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Subway%20flood1" width="264" /><img alt="" height="149" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Subway%20flood%202" width="246" /><br /><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Subway flooding at the Whitehall Station, which had recently completed a $530 million remodeling (the stairs you see go down to the subway platform).</em></span></center>
<p><br />
Well, except for Governor Romney, who, after <a href="http://updates.gawker.com/post/34699991583/tired-of-constantly-flip-flopping-on-every-single">multiple attempts by reporters</a>, still refuses to answer simple questions about <span class="caps">FEMA</span> and disaster relief funding. Perhaps it's because he's eating his words right now after stating at the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=ZENtH3psXl4"><span class="caps">RNC</span> that he has no interest in “slowing the rise of the oceans” or “healing the planet”</a> - a statement <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7T-Wy17U6M&amp;feature=youtu.be">Bill Clinton called him out on</a> at a rally in Minnesota yesterday.<br /> </p>
<center>
<p><img alt="" height="293" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/317896_4619632287164_1957343136_n.jpg" width="278" /></p>
</center>
<p>It's hard to deny seeing the predictions of climate scientists <a href="http://www.climatecodered.org/2012/10/connecting-dots-between-frankenstorm.html">unfold</a>. For example, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/10/10/1209542109">warmer oceans</a> would contribute to more intense storms. Ocean temperatures are <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/?index_region=at">5 degrees F warmer</a> than usual right now, intensifying the storm like a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW3b8jSX7ec">baseball player using steroids</a>. This also increases the likelihood that a storm will track north. As global temperatures continue to increase, so does the atmosphere's ability to hold moisture, leading to more rain.</p>
<center>
<p><img alt="" height="303" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/14th%20floating%20cars" width="303" /><br /><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Flooding at 14th St. and Ave. C in Manhattan</em></span></p>
</center>
<p>The sea levels are rising, encroaching up the coast and making <a href="http://ht.ly/eTmWZ">storm surges more destructive</a> (especially at high tide, as happened with Sandy). The Battery in lower Manhattan saw <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/how-global-warming-made-hurricane-sandy-worse-15190">record storm surge levels</a>, at over 9 feet above high tide. In fact, sea levels are rising <a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/sea-level-rise-endangers-east-coast-120626.html">4 times faster</a> on the Northeast coast of the <span class="caps">US</span> than the global average.<br /><br />
Lastly, even the <a href="http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2012/2012GL051000.shtml">record low Arctic ice levels</a> <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/how-global-warming-made-hurricane-sandy-worse-15190">may have influence</a> over these types of storms by messing with the Jet Stream and blocking the storms from heading out to sea, instead shoving into the east coast.</p>
<blockquote>
“Extreme weather is a reality. It is a reality that we are vulnerable,” continued Cuomo. “And if we’re going to do our job as elected officials, we’re going to need to think about how to redesign, or as we go forward, make the modifications necessary so we don’t incur this type of damage. This city, this region, is very susceptible to coastal flooding. It’s not something we’ve had to deal with historically with any frequency whatsoever. So we’re not built in a way that has the built in protections seen in other states.”</blockquote>
<center>
<p><img alt="" height="331" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Breezy%20Point%20Fire" width="453" /><br /><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Over 100 homes in Breezy Point Queens burned when fire crews couldn't contain a fire caused by a burst electrical line.</em></span></p>
</center>
<p>Even Mayor Bloomberg <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/83055.html?hp=l4_b2">couldn't deny the severity of weather events</a> in recent years (even if he can't quite hop on the global warming reality train),</p>
<blockquote>
“What is clear is that the storms that we’ve experienced in the last year or so around this country and around the world are much more severe than before. Whether that’s global warming or what, I don’t know. But we’ll have to address those issues.”</blockquote>
<p><br />
This storm will cost the city and tri-state area billions in damages, for one storm, yet we refuse to invest in measures that could combat and mitigate climate change, in effect preventing these disasters from getting worse. Instead the conversation continues to be about “clean” coal, “natural” gas, and “home-grown” oil extracted within our borders. In the meantime, this is my second hurricane in New York in two years.<br /> </p>
<blockquote>
“There’s only so long you can say, ‘well this is a once in a lifetime and it will never happen again,” said Governor Cuomo, “I believe it’s going to happen again. I pray that it’s not; I believe that it is.”<br /><br />
</blockquote>
<p>So how many natural disasters is it going to take before we can have this long overdue conversation with our nation's leaders?</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7257">new york city</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10799">Hurricane Sandy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8003">Governor Cuomo</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8722">Mayor Bloomberg</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5529">fossil fuel industry</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/bill-clinton">Bill Clinton</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8750">rising sea levels</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10800">Rising Ocean Temperatures</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10801">Climate Change Impacts</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10661">climate silence</a></div></div></div>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:05:12 +0000Laurel Whitney6626 at http://www.desmogblog.comMTV Breaks Climate Silence In Interview With Barack Obamahttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/26/mtv-breaks-climate-silence-interview-barack-obama
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>What does it say about the fourth estate and the presidential debate moderators that it fell to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWbwsuk3-cI"><span class="caps">MTV</span> to break the climate silence</a> by finally asking one of the candidates about <a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/the-issue-that-dare-not-speak-its-name/">climate change</a>? <br /><br />
Oh well, at least it's broken now. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWbwsuk3-cI">H/T Forecast The Facts</a></p>
<p><object height="309" width="550"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vWbwsuk3-cI?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="309" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vWbwsuk3-cI?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="550"></embed></object><br /><br />
To the 2012 Presidential Debate moderators, <strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwDDswGsJ60">here's a little tribute to all of you</a></strong> for failing to ask any questions about the single largest threat to <span class="caps">U.S.</span> national security, public health and the economy. I'm looking at you <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgwzcXBgriU">Candy “all you climate change people” Crowley</a>, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/10/03/pbs-ignores-the-environment-in-first-presidenti/190334">Jim Lehrer</a>, and <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/10/schieffer-i-dont-think-ill-do-it-again-139347.html">Bob “200 questions” Schieffer</a>. You all just got owned by <span class="caps">MTV</span>, that bastion of vital political coverage.<br /><br />
Take a bow, <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696366/barack-obama-sway-calloway-interview.jhtml">Sway Calloway</a>!</p>
<!--break--></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10661">climate silence</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8218">Forecast the Facts</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6777">2012 election</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1850">MTV</a></div></div></div>Sat, 27 Oct 2012 02:39:58 +0000Brendan DeMelle6618 at http://www.desmogblog.comComedian Kamau Bell Joins Romney, says F**K Science!http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/21/comedian-kamau-bell-joins-romney-says-fk-science
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>This is a funny video brought to you by <a href="http://actually.org/">Actually.org</a> - the same team that produced Samuel L. Jackson's election video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og35U0d6WKY">“Wake the F**k Up!”</a></p>
<p>Enjoy:</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jIsjbQCptF0" width="560"></iframe></p>
<!--break--></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10662">kamau bell</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9879">election 2012</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10663">actually.org</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/science">Science</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6777">2012 election</a></div></div></div>Tue, 23 Oct 2012 06:34:49 +0000Kevin Grandia6600 at http://www.desmogblog.comWhat To Expect When You're Electing - The Candidates' Energy Planshttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/03/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-candidates-energy-plans
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/obama-romney.jpg?itok=eFHB1Oyw" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>With only a few weeks left for American voters to decide between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, more and more attention is being paid to the candidates’ respective energy policies.</p>
<p>We’ve reported in recent months that <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-part-2-mitt-romney">Mitt Romney</a> has stacked his energy team of <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-mitt-romney-s-energy-advisors">advisors with dirty energy industry insiders and lobbyists</a>, which gives us an idea of how he would run the country. With Obama, we have the benefit of <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-president-barack-obama">using the past as an example</a> of what to expect in the future. </p>
<p>But both candidates are now in a position where their <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/04/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-parties-platforms-environment">current proposals and policy ideas</a> are being shown to the public, so let’s break down what each presidential candidate says they will do with regards to energy and the environment, if elected.</p>
<p><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/28/924721/energy-policy-101-barack-obama-versus-mitt-romney/">Think Progress</a> has put together a great side-by-side comparison of the two candidates, which gives us a very clear picture of where each candidate would take the country:</p>
<!--break-->
<p><a href="http://s1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb321/fcousins1/?action=view&amp;current=CAPCandidateonEnergy-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb321/fcousins1/CAPCandidateonEnergy-1.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>All of the sources for the above information are available at <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/28/924721/energy-policy-101-barack-obama-versus-mitt-romney/">Think Progress</a>. </p>
<p>The chart above shows us that Mitt Romney would continue the same failed policies of the former Bush administration, while Barack Obama hopes to bring our energy infrastructure up to speed with renewable energy. However, President Obama’s track record has been less than stellar on issues involving energy and the environment, and any rhetoric from either candidate should be looked at somewhat skeptically.</p>
<p>But the real question is how the goals of the candidates will sway undecided voters. Several months ago, <a href="http://environment.about.com/od/environmentallawpolicy/a/envirovotes.htm">polls showed</a> us that Americans were not very concerned about environmental issues in this election, but <a href="http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/undecidedvoters/">emerging polls show us</a> that undecided voters <span class="caps">DO</span> consider a candidate’s position on issues like energy and the environment.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/undecidedvoters/"><span class="caps">NRDC</span> Action Fund</a> recently conducted a poll of undecided voters in swing states, and they found that undecided voters will overwhelmingly support a candidate that supports clean, renewable energy projects:</p>
<p><a href="http://s1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb321/fcousins1/?action=view&amp;current=NRDC_AF_Undecideds_Graphic.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb321/fcousins1/NRDC_AF_Undecideds_Graphic.gif" /></a></p>
<p>The numbers aren’t favorable for Mitt Romney, who has <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-part-2-mitt-romney">shifted his environmental positions</a> to a more extreme, dirty energy-friendly platform compared to when he was governor of Massachusetts. </p>
<p>But the <a href="http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/undecidedvoters/"><span class="caps">NRDC</span> Action Fund poll found even more relevant information</a> that could spell doom for the Republican Party:</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">By a margin of 72 percent to 14 percent, undecided voters agree that the <span class="caps">EPA</span> should protect “the air we breathe and water we drink” with “safeguards that hold corporate polluters accountable.” Among likely voters, the margin is 74 percent to 18 percent in favor of <span class="caps">EPA</span>’s role.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">By a margin of 68 percent to 17 percent, undecided voters support disclosure of chemicals used in fracking. Among likely voters the margin is 69 percent to 21 percent in favor of disclosure.</p>
<p>The Republican Party has been campaigning for over a year on the promise to “<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/here-we-go-again-republican-attacks-epa-kick-2012-agenda">dismantle the <span class="caps">EPA</span></a>,” and they have fought hard in Washington to <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/218969-senate-republicans-take-aim-at-federal-gas-fracking-rules">prevent any legislation</a> that would tighten the regulatory actions against fracking companies. This may not sit well with indecisive voters.</p>
<p><a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/10/17/obama-romney-energy/">Fortune Magazine</a> has also addressed the big energy issues, discussing the candidates’ plans and determining which industries would thrive best under each administration. For Fortune, the main focus was on job creation within the energy sector. </p>
<p><a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/10/17/obama-romney-energy/">Fortune concludes</a> that a Romney presidency would greatly benefit the oil and nuclear industries, due to a potential reduction of federal oversight. When it comes to addressing climate change, they say that Obama would be more likely to take the issue seriously, but that the gridlock in Washington, <span class="caps">D.C.</span> would likely prevent any real reforms from taking place. Other than that, they conclude that both fracking and coal would see little difference in their operations, regardless of who is elected. </p>
<p>The presidential debates also told us a few things about what to expect from both candidates as far as energy policy, and neither should make American voters feel very secure about our energy future.</p>
<p>During the second presidential debate, the topics of energy production and energy sources were a source of much contention between the two candidates, with both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama arguing over <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/16/1025861/the-sound-of-climate-silence-candidates-spar-on-who-wants-to-drill-for-more-fossil-fuels-during-presidential-debate/">who would allow more drilling</a> on <span class="caps">U.S.</span> soil, on public lands, and in our waters. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/16/1025861/the-sound-of-climate-silence-candidates-spar-on-who-wants-to-drill-for-more-fossil-fuels-during-presidential-debate/">Think Progress pointed out</a>, not once during the exchange did the word “climate” or the concept of “climate change” creep into the argument. And at this point, you simply cannot discuss energy production without factoring in climate change.</p>
<p>Additionally, neither candidate thought it was necessary to bring up a massively important issue – the <span class="caps">BP</span> oil disaster that devastated the Gulf of Mexico. This is another issue that must be taken into account when we discuss drilling on every available piece of land and in <span class="caps">U.S.</span> coastal water bodies. Both candidates failed to bring up that salient point.</p>
<p>Here’s the problem with both <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-president-barack-obama">Obama</a> and <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/what-expect-when-you-re-electing-part-2-mitt-romney">Romney</a> – they are too inconsistent on their energy issues. Romney’s actions (good actions) during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts don’t match his rhetoric today; and Obama’s rhetoric before being elected in 2008 doesn’t match his actions since taking office. Sadly for voters, this leaves them without a clear choice from the two major parties in this election, and that is a serious problem for our environment and the public health.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5445">election</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6360">2012</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3373">NRDC</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2686">think progress</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10380">Chart</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2939">energy</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5693">Policy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10381">Idea</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5756">Campaign</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3632">lobbyist</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4862">dirty energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6079">Money</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5227">politics</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10382">News</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3498">debate</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10610">Fortune</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5371">regulation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7642">oversight</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5133">fracking</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1286">oil</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1425">renewable</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div></div></div>Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:55:20 +0000Farron Cousins6562 at http://www.desmogblog.comHeritage Foundation Distributes List Of Fallacies Regarding Obama’s Energy Policieshttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/06/heritage-foundation-distributes-list-fallacies-regarding-obama-s-energy-policies
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/heritage-foundation.jpg?itok=rTZ-VuNn" width="200" height="111" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In an attempt to paint President Obama as bad for the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> economy, the Heritage Foundation recently released a list of the <a href="http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/01/10-ways-the-obama-administration-is-hurting-americas-energy-economy/">top ten ways in which the President’s energy policies</a> are 'destroying' both the economy and our domestic energy production.</p>
<p>The list contains numerous falsehoods coupled with half-truths and out of context information. When taken at face value, they give conservatives plenty to salivate over in the short time before the national election. But those of us who have been paying attention can easily conclude that the statements made by Heritage have no basis in reality.</p>
<p>Before diving into the list, it is important to remember that Heritage has <a href="http://desmogblog.com/heritage-foundation">received millions of dollars from the dirty energy industry</a> over the years, including such noted players as Exxon Mobil and Koch Industries. They are also a hub for many prominent climate change skeptics.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/01/10-ways-the-obama-administration-is-hurting-americas-energy-economy/">Here’s Heritage’s list of Obama’s attacks against the energy economy</a>, each one followed by the reality behind the situation:</p>
<!--break-->
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Slowing energy production on federal lands. According to a recent report from the Energy Information Administration (<span class="caps">EIA</span>), energy production decreased 13 percent on federal lands in fiscal year (<span class="caps">FY</span>) 2011 when compared to <span class="caps">FY</span> 2010.</p>
<p>This statement is half true, but only because it omits years’ worth of data. The whole truth is that <a href="http://articles.boston.com/2012-09-27/politics/34103358_1_natural-gas-new-jobs-energy-companies/4">energy production on federal lands has returned to its 2007 levels, after increasing</a> by 13% in 2008, 2009, and 2010. For several years under Obama, the production of energy on public lands actually increased. On top of that, the Administration <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/19/national-parks-risk-exploitation-oil-and-gas-drilling">recently announced the sale of vast areas of public lands</a> to the dirty energy industry for exploitation, which result in a dramatic increase in drilling and pollution on public lands.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Failing to open areas to exploration and development. Where the Administration is destroying energy jobs on federal jobs, it is failing to create them by aggressively opening America’s federal lands and waters to exploration and development.</p>
<p>As pointed out after point #1, this claim is completely untrue on its face. In addition to opening up public lands, the Administration has also <a href="http://theadvocate.com/home/3980521-125/us-to-expand-gulf-drilling">increased oil drilling offshore</a>, including in the <span class="caps">BP</span> oil-stained Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>Heritage has long been <a href="http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/08/offshore-drilling-increase-access-reduce-the-risk-and-stop-hurting-american-companies">a proponent of increased offshore oil drilling</a>, which would greatly benefit their own benefactors.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Delaying a decision on Keystone <span class="caps">XL</span> pipeline.</p>
<p>I’ll give that to them – that’s technically true, but only after <a href="http://www.tarsandsaction.org/">intense public protests</a> forced the president to make a stand on the issue. However, <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/10970-amidst-protest-construction-begins-on-keystone-xl-pipeline-in-texas">construction on the pipeline has already begun in Texas</a>, making the President a null factor here, which makes Heritage’s point moot.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Tripling down on energy subsidies. America’s addiction to energy subsidies began well before President Obama took office. According to the <span class="caps">EIA</span>, the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> spent $8.2 billion on energy subsidies in 1999. That spending more than doubled to $16.6 billion in 2007. Rather than eliminating subsidies for all energy sectors, President Obama tripled down by providing $53.2 billion in the 2009 stimulus bill for energy programs. We have a diverse, competitive energy sector, but government subsidies merely concentrate power in Washington. <strong>Energy subsidies merely shift labor and capital away from economically viable projects that would actually help grow our economy to those projects that have political preference.</strong></p>
<p>Again, energy subsidies have indeed increased, and had Heritage stopped there they might have had at least one true statement on their list. But they had to keep going, and couldn’t resist throwing in a few jabs to paint the president as a failure with his energy subsidy choices. Mitt Romney did the same thing in the first debate.</p>
<p>However, <a href="http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/fact-check-romney-told-27-myths-38-minutes-during-debate">Mitt Romney had the sense to walk those comments back</a>. Heritage has not.</p>
<p>As it turns out, the majority of the President’s clean energy subsidies have <a href="http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/fact-check-romney-told-27-myths-38-minutes-during-debate">been hugely successful</a>, and, contrary to Heritage’s claim, have been <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2011/12/06/media-ignore-report-undermining-their-solyndra/184694">economically viable</a> and have <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2012/06/08-green-jobs-muro-rothwell">created jobs</a>. </p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Stifling all energy projects in red tape. The government’s assault on energy projects is relentless. The <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Chamber of Commerce identified 351 energy projects stalled by “not in my backyard” lawsuits, regulatory red tape, and, of course, endless lawsuits from environmental activists who want to quash these projects.</p>
<p>Again, this claim was debunked earlier, as <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/another-industry-talking-point-laid-rest-oil-production-soars-gas-prices-remain-high">domestic energy production has increased</a>, public land-drilling permitting has increased, and permitting has increased. That’s hardly “<span class="caps">ALL</span>” energy projects being stifled.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Shutting down coal. With 497 billion tons of recoverable coal in the U.S.—enough to provide electricity for 500 years at current consumption rates—coal has the potential to be an important resource long into the future. Regrettably, the Obama Administration has taken actions that significantly reduce coal’s share of America’s energy portfolio now and in the future.</p>
<p>False. False. False. The Obama Administration has <a href="http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/02/14/US-coal-production-increased-EIA-says/UPI-74181329218291/">reported an increase in coal production</a> for the last two years. The decrease that occurred in 2009 was <a href="http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/02/14/US-coal-production-increased-EIA-says/UPI-74181329218291/">market-driven</a>, not administrative red tape.<br /><br />
Also, Heritage must be wearing the rosiest spectacles around with its “500 years” of coal-fired electricity claim. For starters, they assume that 100% of coal reserves can be extracted economically, which it can't. Not even the industry's top cheerleaders at the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity tout the '500 years' figure, preferring the equally incorrect '<a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/404399-2012-accce-coal250years.html">250 years</a>' figure (which <a href="http://www.polluterwatch.com/blog/romneys-war-coal-tv-ads-mirror-coal-industry-advertising">Mitt Romney uses</a> too). In reality, according to the <a href="http://wvgazette.com/News/201209200146">National Academy of Sciences</a> and <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/07/12/266867/why-america-needs-to-move-beyond-coal-five-economic-indicators/">other sources</a>, the amount of economically recoverable coal would last anywhere from a few decades to about a century. And that allows zero consideration of what that would mean for the global climate, public health, and air and water pollution.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Using extreme and unprecedented power. In an unprecedented move, in January 2011, the <span class="caps">EPA</span> revoked a water permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 for a West Virginia mine. The <span class="caps">U.S.</span> District Court for the District of Columbia struck down those <span class="caps">EPA</span> procedures, calling them “unreasonable.” The <span class="caps">EPA</span> also proposed a more stringent revision of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (<span class="caps">NAAQS</span>) for ground-level ozone.</p>
<p>The clever language used by Heritage here is what gives them problems. These statements are technically true, but these <span class="caps">EPA</span> decisions were not from Obama’s “extreme and unprecedented power,” but were the result of <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2012/0626/In-win-for-Obama-EPA-regulations-on-emissions-upheld-by-appeals-court">court decisions</a> that forced the agency to enforce certain rules. While there have been numerous Court cases reducing <span class="caps">EPA</span> power, there have been plenty giving the <span class="caps">EPA</span> power to enforce certain rules.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Threatening hydraulic fracturing…Used in over 1 million wells in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> for more than 60 years, fracking has been successfully used to retrieve more than 7 billion barrels of oil and over 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Just 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is enough to heat 15 million homes for one year. Despite the length of time that hydraulic fracturing has been used, and despite the fact that the states have effectively regulated fracking, the Administration is proposing regulations that would be both unnecessary and duplicative and drive away opportunities for the safe development of affordable, reliable energy.</p>
<p>This claim is laughable. First of all, fracking has been linked to <a href="http://www.dadychery.org/2012/03/26/fracking-earthquake-link-known-for-decade/">localized earthquakes for decades</a>, something that an observer would hardly consider to be “successful.” Second, there is <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/who-monitoring-fracking-wells-and-pipelines-nobody">barely any regulation at all on fracking wells</a>, even at the state level (as Heritage claims). The industry is able to operate with a stunning lack of oversight of any kind, as explained in DeSmog's Fracking the Future report.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Shutting down Yucca Mountain. The Obama Administration says it wants to pursue nuclear power, but its rhetoric does not match its nuclear policy. Its decision to abandon the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project without any technical or scientific data is a case in point… Yet the Obama Administration decided to terminate the program without having anything to replace it. Absent any nuclear waste disposal options, the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> simply will not significantly expand nuclear energy.</p>
<p>Again, history betrays Heritage on this one. Earlier this year, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/09/us-sets-vote-on-first-nuclear-reactor-since-178/">the <span class="caps">NRC</span> actually approved construction of the first new nuclear reactor</a> in three decades, and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/18/how-to-increase-nuclear-power-without-attracting-attention/">energy supplied from nuclear power plants</a> has been steadily increasing since Obama took office. </p>
<p>So that brings us to number 10:</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Heritage: Attacking on consumer choice. The federal government finalized new automobile efficiency rules today for cars and light trucks for model years 2017–2025. The rules require an average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) in 2025. The government acknowledges that increased fuel efficiency standards will increase the upfront cost of a vehicle. Although the government also estimates that higher prices will be more than offset by gasoline savings, generally these cost savings assume that the buyer keeps the vehicle for its entire lifespan, which usually doesn’t happen. Further, consumers tend to drive new, fuel-efficient vehicles more, which reduces the estimated price, oil, and emissions savings. Higher prices reduce demand and force people to hold onto their older vehicles longer. Reduced demand means fewer cars produced, which means automakers have to shed jobs.</p>
<p>I actually <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/08/27/expensive-fuel-economy-standards-save-u-s-consumers-billions">tackled this lie when it first surfaced in late August</a>. Heritage’s claims are once again proven false on this one, as estimates show that not only will the Administration’s new fuel standards save consumers billions of dollars, but they will also create as many as 700,000 new jobs – not kill jobs. On top of that, every major auto manufacturer operating in America signed off on the standards, so that would have to be one heck of a conspiracy if the goal was to eliminate consumer choice.</p>
<p>And there you have it – in a list of ten attacks against the president, the Heritage Foundation couldn’t even provide a single honest point. Perhaps they’ll take a cue from Mitt Romney and retract their erroneous list, but I won’t be holding my breath. </p>
<p><em>Image source: <a href="http://www.politifake.org/">Politifake.org</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/heritage-foundation">heritage foundation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1800">koch industries</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7218">Funding</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6079">Money</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6193">Lies</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7148">Misinformation</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10413">Post</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5648">Report</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10414">Fuel Efficiency</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5133">fracking</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8253">think tank</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1286">oil</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6497">Offshore</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10415">Federal Lands</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6499">Drilling</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5445">election</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6360">2012</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9433">Myth</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10416">Falsehoods</a></div></div></div>Thu, 11 Oct 2012 01:01:47 +0000Farron Cousins6567 at http://www.desmogblog.comTop Romney Advisor Touts Coal, Fails To Mention His Role As Coal Lobbyisthttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/01/top-romney-advisor-touts-coal-fails-mention-his-role-coal-lobbyist
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/dirty_coal_money.jpg?itok=UVrE_0ir" width="200" height="146" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Jim Talent, a former Republican Senator and one of Mitt Romney’s top campaign advisors, has played an instrumental role in the Romney camp’s positions on energy. Specifically, Talent has pushed for greater consumption and mining of coal to meet America’s energy needs.</p>
<p>What the campaign failed to mention is that the lobbying firm that Talent is still on the payroll with lists one of the largest coal-producing companies in the country as one of its top clients. </p>
<p>And although Talent is <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/08/30/jim_talent_mitt_romney/">not registered as a lobbyist</a> in Washington, <span class="caps">D.C.</span> (thereby making it illegal for him to engage in lobbying activities,) his <a href="http://mercurypublicaffairs.com/staff-member/senator-james-talent">website clearly states</a> that “lobbying” is one of the services he is able to personally provide for clients.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.republicreport.org/2012/coal-lobbyist-outfront-romney/">David Halperin has the story</a> at Republic Report:</p>
<!--break-->
<p>Last fall, the Romney campaign released an <a href="http://www.mittromney.com/sites/default/files/shared/Energy.pdf">energy policy paper</a> that included a statement by Talent blaming government regulation for America’s energy challenges: “The problem is not that America does not have energy. The problem is that our government—alone among the governments of the world—will not allow its own people to recover the energy that they possess.” And where can such energy be found? Talent has an idea: “America has hundreds of years of coal reserves.”</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Even as he touts long-term use of coal for Romney, Talent remains today the <a href="http://www.mercurypublicaffairs.com/leadership">co-chairman of Mercury Public Affairs</a>, a D.C. lobbying and communications firm. As the Boston Globe first <a href="http://www.boston.com/2011/09/09/web-talent/Vmtsu918Yd0ioJ6QU6nZAO/story.html">reported</a> last year, Mercury lobbies for St. Louis-based Peabody Energy, the world’s biggest private sector coal company.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Peabody has paid Mercury nearly <a href="http://www.boston.com/2011/09/09/web-talent/Vmtsu918Yd0ioJ6QU6nZAO/story.html">$700,000</a> in the past<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000020856&amp;year=2012"> six years</a>. The Romney energy paper did not disclose that Talent’s firm was earning money from the coal industry when Talent praised coal as a pillar of America’s energy future for centuries to come.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Newsweek ranked Peabody energy 500th out of 500 — dead last — in its environmental ranking of America’s 500 largest corporations in <a href="http://greenrankings2009.newsweek.com/companies/view/peabody-energy">2009</a> and <a href="http://coalgeology.com/2010-newsweek-green-rankings-deeply-flawed-peabody-energy-nyse-btu/7603/">2010</a>, because of the impact of mining and burning coal and because of Peabody’s aggressive stance against regulation. (The company managed to move up in the ratings for 2011 — to <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/green-rankings/2011/us.html">492</a>.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.republicreport.org/2012/coal-lobbyist-outfront-romney/">Halperin points out</a> that Peabody company is a <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/scientific_integrity/a-climate-of-corporate-control-report.pdf">firm denier of manmade climate change,</a> and goes as far as to tell the public that the greatest threat to humanity is our energy crisis – a crisis that they are conveniently able to solve.</p>
<p>But the connections to dirty energy companies are just the beginning. Here are a few other gems that Halperin unearthed about Romney’s trusted adviser:</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">In June, Stephanie Harnett, a senior associate at Talent’s firm Mercury, was <a href="http://www.republicreport.org/2012/walmart-sends-fake-reporter-spy-warehouse-workers/">caught posing as a reporter</a> and spying on labor organizers at a Wal-Mart warehouse. At the time, Mercury represented Wal-Mart.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">In 2001 — after his unsuccessful bid to be Missouri’s governor and prior to his successful 2002 Senate run — Talent was employed for ten months by the Washington lobbying and law firm Arent Fox, which paid him <a href="http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&amp;p_theme=sl&amp;p_action=search&amp;p_maxdocs=200&amp;s_dispstring=allfields%28talent%29%20and%20allfields%28arent%29%20and%20allfields%28absurd%29%20AND%20date%282/20/2002%20to%204/6/2002%29&amp;p_field_date-0=YMD_date&amp;p_params_date-0=date:B,E&amp;p_text_date-0=2/20/2002%20to%204/6/2002%29&amp;p_field_advanced-0=&amp;p_text_advanced-0=%28%22talent%22%29%20and%20%28%22arent%22%29%20and%20%28%22absurd%22%29&amp;xcal_numdocs=20&amp;p_perpage=10&amp;p_sort=YMD_date:D&amp;xcal_useweights=no">$230,000</a> even though he was barred by law from lobbying and not licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia.</p>
<p>While this information is certainly troubling, the big issue with Talent is that he clearly has Mitt Romney’s ear when it comes to making policy, and the policies he is pushing are bad for America. Relying on fossil fuels is an outdated way to power the economy, and if policies revolve around continued addiction to dirty energy, the United States will continue to lose ground (and valuable time) on renewable energy technologies.</p>
<p>Romney’s plan is clearly to increase our reliance on fossil fuels, as his <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/28/924721/energy-policy-101-barack-obama-versus-mitt-romney/">positions on the issues</a> show us, as well as his roster of advisers like Talent. And while the Democrats have offered some great sound bites and rhetoric on the issue, their record over the last four years shows that they are also not that serious about getting America off of fossil fuels. Regardless of the outcome, it appears that the environment and the global climate will continue to be largely ignored in this year’s election.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10370">Jim Talent</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/peabody-energy">Peabody Energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/662">coal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7628">Plan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5693">Policy</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10371">Position</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5227">politics</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/republican">republican</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1589">Senate</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3632">lobbyist</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10372">Firm</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6697">Mercury</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2920">pollution</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9879">election 2012</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1425">renewable</a></div></div></div>Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:47:34 +0000Farron Cousins6558 at http://www.desmogblog.comThe Fossil 47 Percent: Freeloading Energy Companies That Pay No Income Taxeshttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/24/fossil-47-percent-freeloading-energy-companies-pay-no-income-taxes
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/original.jpg?itok=YYzUzMWq" width="200" height="113" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Mitt Romney has nothing but disdain for fossil fuel companies. At least those freeloaders that are “dependent on government” and “pay no income taxes.” This is true if you believe Romney's very own words and some very circular logic. Follow along:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser">According to Romney</a>, his “job is is not to worry about” those 47 percent of Americans that don’t pay income taxes.</p>
<p>And of course we know that, according to Romney, “<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/mitt-romney-corporations-are-people/2011/03/03/gIQA8Pjy8I_blog.html">corporations are people</a>,” too. So reason dictates that if a corporation isn’t paying income taxes, it’s not Mitt Romney’s job to worry about them.</p>
<p>Someone tell that to the 33 energy companies in the <span class="caps">S&amp;P</span> 500 that paid either paid no income taxes at all or actually received a tax return last year.</p>
<!--break-->
<p>Are these the corporation-people that Romney scorns? The freeloaders he claims “are <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 24px; ">dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them.” </span></p>
<p>Of the 70 big energy companies that make the ranks of the <span class="caps">S&amp;P</span> 500 (oil, gas, coal, nuclear, utilities, resource extraction and infrastructure companies, and so on), 33 paid absolutely nothing (or less!) in taxes in 2011.</p>
<p>This is all according to a DeSmogBlog analysis of energy companies’ 2011 tax data using the <a href="http://www.nerdwallet.com/markets/corporate-taxes/rates/">Corporate Tax Rate Transparency Tool</a> built by NerdWallet.</p>
<p>As Joanna Pratt, a Vice President at NerdWallet, describes it, the “Actual Tax Rate” calculated by the transparency tool reflects the actual tax payments for the current year as a percentage of the company’s income.<br /><br />
According to Pratt, some companies will defer or reduce taxes that are due any given year through a number of tactics, so they don’t wind up paying the official corporate tax rate, or even the rate that they report. Which is how, for instance, ExxonMobil (which – sorry, <em>who</em> – barely avoided the shunned ranks of the freeloading 47 percent) paid an actual tax rate of 2 percent on their roughly $73 billion of income, while reporting a tax rate of 42 percent.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/ExxonMobil.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 197px; " /></p>
<p><br />
So who are the real Big Energy freeloaders? The 47 percent of <span class="caps">S&amp;P</span> 500 listed energy industry companies didn’t pay income taxes at all last year?</p>
<p>Here they are in alphabetical order, listed with the branch of the energy sector they work in, and including screengrabs from the <a href="http://www.nerdwallet.com/markets/corporate-taxes/rates/">Corporate Tax Rate Transparency Tool</a> that shows the actual tax rate, the reported tax rate, and the company’s total income.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.aes.com/aes/index?page=home"><span class="caps">AES</span> Corp</a></strong><br />
Electricity generation and distribution.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/AES.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 199px; " /></p>
<p><br /><strong><a href="http://www.aglresources.com/"><span class="caps">AGL</span> Resources</a></strong><br />
Natural gas<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/AGL%20.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /><br /> </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.alphanr.com/Pages/Default.aspx">Alpha Natural Resources</a></strong><br />
Coal. Posted negative earnings due largely to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-29/alpha-natural-agrees-to-buy-massey-energy-for-8-5-billion-in-cash-stock.html">purchase of Massey Energy</a> during the fallout from the Upper Big Branch mine disaster.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Alpha%20Natural%20Resources.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.ameren.com/AboutAmeren/Pages/FactsaboutAmeren.aspx">Ameren Corp</a></strong><br />
Natural gas and electric utility.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Ameren.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.anadarko.com/Home/Pages/Home.aspx"><strong>Anadarko Petroleum</strong></a><br />
Oil and gas speculation.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Anadarko%20Petroleum.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 152px; " /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.centerpointenergy.com/home"><strong>Centerpoint Energy</strong></a><br />
Natural gas and electricity utility. </p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Centerpoint.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.chk.com/Pages/default.aspx">Chesapeake Energy</a></strong><br />
Natural gas.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Chesapeake.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 198px; " /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.denbury.com/About/default.aspx"><strong>Denbury Resources</strong></a><br />
Oil and gas producer.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Denbury%20Resources.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.devonenergy.com/Pages/devon_energy_home.aspx"><strong>Devon Energy Corp.</strong></a><br />
Oil and gas producer.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Devon%20Energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 152px; " /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.dom.com/"><strong>Dominion Resources</strong></a><br />
Natural gas and electric utility.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Dominion.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.duke-energy.com/about-us/default.asp"><strong>Duke Energy</strong></a><br />
Electric utility (nuclear, coal, natural gas, and hydroelectric power) and natural gas distributor.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Duke%20Energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 152px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.edison.com/"><strong>Edison International</strong></a><br />
Electric utility.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Edison%20.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.entergy.com/"><strong>Entergy</strong></a><br />
Nuclear power.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Entergy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.exeloncorp.com/Pages/home.aspx"><strong>Exelon Energy</strong></a><br />
Natural gas and nuclear-powered electric utility and natural gas distributor.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Exelon.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 199px; " /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/about/generation_system.html"><strong>FirstEnergy Corp</strong></a><br />
Electric utility.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/FirstEnergy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.integrysgroup.com/"><strong>Integrys Energy</strong></a><br />
Natural gas and electric utilities.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Integrys%20Energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.marathon.com/"><strong>Marathon Oil Company</strong></a><br />
Tar sands, oil production and refining.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Marathon%20Oil%20Corp.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.nexteraenergyresources.com/home/index.shtml"><strong>Next Era Energy</strong></a><br />
Electricity generation. Mostly wind, some nuclear.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/NextEra%20Energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.nisource.com/en/home.aspx"><strong>Nisource Energy</strong></a><br />
Natural gas distribution and electricity generation.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Nisource.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.oneok.com/"><strong><span class="caps">ONEOK</span></strong></a><br />
Natural gas distribution.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/ONEOK.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 152px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.pgecorp.com/"><strong><span class="caps">PG&amp;E</span></strong></a><br />
Natural gas and electric utility.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/PG%26E%20corp.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 152px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.pxd.com/"><strong>Pioneer Natural Resources</strong></a><br />
Oil and natural gas exploration.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Pioneer%20natural%20resources.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 199px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.progress-energy.com/"><strong>Progress Energy</strong></a><br />
Former natural gas distributor and electric utility, since acquired by Duke Energy.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/progress%20energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 152px; " /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.qepres.com/"><strong><span class="caps">QEP</span> Resources</strong></a><br />
Oil and natural gas exploration.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/QEP%20resources.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.rangeresources.com/"><strong>Range Resources</strong></a><br />
Natural gas exploration.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Range%20Resources.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 197px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.rowancompanies.com/"><strong>Rowan Companies</strong></a><br />
Offshore oil drilling rigs.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/rowan%20companies.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.swn.com/Pages/default.aspx"><strong>Southwestern Energy</strong></a><br />
Oil and natural gas exploration.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/southwestern%20energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 198px; " /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.spectraenergy.com/"><strong>Spectra Energy</strong></a><br />
Vertically integrated natural gas company.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/spectra.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 198px; " /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.sunocoinc.com/"><strong>Sunoco</strong></a><br />
Gasoline and transporation fuels.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Sunoco.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tecoenergy.com/"><strong><span class="caps">TECO</span> Energy</strong></a><br />
Coal producer, natural gas distributor, electric utility.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/TECO.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 198px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wpxenergy.com/"><strong><span class="caps">WPX</span> Energy</strong></a><br />
Shale oil and natural gas exploration.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/WPX%20energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisconsinenergy.com/aboutus/aboutus.htm"><strong>Wisconsin Energy</strong></a><br />
Natural gas distribution and electric utility.<br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Wisconsin%20Energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 151px; " /><br /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.xcelenergy.com/"><strong><span class="caps">XCEL</span> Energy</strong></a><br />
Electric utility- coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar. <br /><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/xcel%20energy.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 199px; " /></p>
<p>Of those irresponsible 47 percent, Romney said, “<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 24px; ">I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”<br /><br />
Would he try to convince these non-tax-paying energy companies the same way? </span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9546">taxes</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10313">income tax</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/657">ExxonMobil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9768">Spectra</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10314">xcel</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/duke-energy">Duke Energy</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10315">47 percent</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2939">energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1286">oil</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10316">nerd wallet</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10317">tax rate transparency tool</a></div></div></div>Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:11:48 +0000Ben Jervey6543 at http://www.desmogblog.comNational Parks At Risk Of Exploitation From Oil And Gas Drillinghttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/19/national-parks-risk-exploitation-oil-and-gas-drilling
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/oil-rig_0.jpg?itok=PT4PHr6V" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The <span class="caps">U.S.</span> National Park System currently encompasses <a href="http://www.nps.gov/faqs.htm">more than 84 million acres of land</a> in the United States, and if <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=E01">oil-funded politicians</a> in Washington, <span class="caps">D.C.</span> get their way, those millions of protected acres could soon become the <a href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/180226/republican-wants-to-sell-united-states-national-parks/">playground for the dirty energy industry</a>.<br /><br />
According to a <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2012/09/12/37152/drilling-could-threaten-our-national-parks/">new report by the Center for American Progress</a> (<span class="caps">CAP</span>), oil and gas drilling is already taking place in at least <a href="http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/09/17/national-parks-risk-due-oil-and-gas-company-land-grabbing?cmpid=tp-ptnr-hufpo">12 areas designated as “national parks”</a> by the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Department of Interior, with as many as 30 more being considered for drilling.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2012/09/12/37152/drilling-could-threaten-our-national-parks/"><span class="caps">CAP</span>’s chart below</a> shows us where drilling is occurring, or could likely occur in the near future:<br /><br /><a href="http://s1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb321/fcousins1/?action=view&amp;current=PublicLandsDrillingInfographic_web_graphic-1_zpsbecd5405.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb321/fcousins1/PublicLandsDrillingInfographic_web_graphic-1_zpsbecd5405.jpg" /></a></p>
<!--break-->
<p><br />
As <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2012/09/12/37152/drilling-could-threaten-our-national-parks/"><span class="caps">CAP</span> points out</a>, current rules and regulations require that any drilling on public lands adhere to strict standards regarding air, water, and other environmental pollution. But laws and regulations can only lay out guidelines for the industry – they can’t predict or prevent when accidents may occur.<br /><br />
And if history is any indicator, there is massive cause for concern over oil and gas drilling on our federally protected lands.<br /><br />
From 2000 to 2010, <a href="http://databases.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/ftlaudoilspill/ftlaudoilspill_list.php?pagesize=100">more than 86 different oil and gas spills were reported</a>, resulting in the release of millions of gallons of oil into the environment. The largest and most notable during this time period was <span class="caps">BP</span>’s Deepwater Horizon oil geyser. These spills and accidents affected states across the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> – Alaska, Texas, California, Washington, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts – the list goes on and on.<br /><br />
But those 86 events were just the massive events. Smaller, isolated spills and “accidents” are all-too common in drilling areas. For example, studies show that <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2012/09/12/37152/drilling-could-threaten-our-national-parks/">in the year 2011 there were more than 1,000 spills, leaks, or wastewater discharges</a> that resulted in environmental harm. And those 1,000 incidents were only the ones that happened in the state of North Dakota.<br /><br />
These spills, and the <a href="http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/statistics/">hundreds that occurred in the years</a> prior to 2000, <a href="http://egpnews.com/2012/07/green-scissors-for-congress/">have cost <span class="caps">U.S.</span> taxpayers</a> <a href="http://forcechange.com/13030/stop-oil-companies-from-using-oil-spill-cleanup-costs-as-tax-write-offs/">billions of dollars</a>.<br /><br />
And contrary to what they’ve been telling reporters and even Congress, it appears likely that the Republican Romney/Ryan ticket is in favor of drilling in our protected national parks.<br /><br />
At a <a href="http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24078">recent testimony before Congress</a>, Romney’s chief energy advisor Harold Hamm, who also happens to be the <span class="caps">CEO</span> of Continental Resources, told us that the Romney camp had absolutely no plans to allow drilling in national parks.<br /><br />
But actions speak much louder than words, especially words from a campaign that is struggling to stay on message. And the <a href="http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/green/report/2012/09/10/37013/gov-romney-and-rep-ryan-want-to-drill-slash-and-sell-our-nations-public-lands/">Center for American Progress shows</a> us that, based on their voting records and proposals, Romney and Ryan have every intention of allowing our national parks to be pillaged by the dirty energy industry:<br /> </p>
<blockquote>
So what are Gov. Romney’s and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-<span class="caps">WI</span>), policies on public lands? We examined the plans of the two candidates alongside their previous votes and policy positions, discovering that, for them, the purpose of public lands is:<br /><br />
- More access for oil and gas drilling and less investment in cleaner alternative energy sources<br />
- The sale of public lands rather than further conservation for future enjoyment and job creation<br />
- Less public access to public lands due to ill-considered budget cuts rather than investments in our parks and wilderness areas to boost local economies and jobs<br />
</blockquote>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=E01">2011 – 2012 donation cycle</a>, Mitt Romney is currently the recipient of the largest amount of cash from the oil and gas industries, with more than $2.2 million in donations, according to OpenSecrets.org. By contrast, President Obama has received only $372,000 from these industries during the same cycle. The numbers alone tell the story about energy policy that the <a href="http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24078">Romney campaign continues to deny</a>.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6679">Paul Ryan</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1286">oil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1287">gas</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6499">Drilling</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10221">National Park</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5756">Campaign</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6949">Donation</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4862">dirty energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6079">Money</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8021">Finance</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5445">election</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6360">2012</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4754">President Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2060">Interior Department</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1002">bp</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6232">Spill</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10222">Accident</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6381">Leak</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6280">Waste</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2920">pollution</a></div></div></div>Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:01:48 +0000Farron Cousins6530 at http://www.desmogblog.comPetroleum Broadcasting System's "Newshour" and the Merchants of Climate Doubthttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/18/petroleum-broadcasting-system-s-newshour-and-merchants-climate-doubt
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/newshour_watts_denial.png?itok=cwm8nx11" width="200" height="188" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>There's an old <a href="http://www.quotes.net/quote/2662">German proverb</a> that goes, “Whose bread I eat his song I sing.”</p>
<p>Enter a recent spate of reportage by the Public Broadcasting System's (<span class="caps">PBS</span>)<em> ”</em>Newshour<em>.”</em> In a September 17 story titled, “<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/09/why-the-global-warming-crowd-oversells-its-message.html">Climate Change Skeptic Says Global Warming Crowd Oversells Its Message</a>” (with a <span class="caps">URL</span> titled, “<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/09/why-the-global-warming-crowd-oversells-its-message.html">Why the Global Warming Crowd Oversells its Message</a>”) the Newshour “provided an unchecked platform for Anthony Watts, a virulent climate change denier funded by the Heartland Institute,” <a href="http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/climate_pbs_watts/">as described</a> by <em><a href="http://forecastthefacts.org/about/">Forecast the Facts</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Forecast the Facts</em> created <a href="http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/climate_pbs_watts/">a petition</a> demanding that the “<span class="caps">PBS</span> ombudsman…immediately investigate how this segment came to be aired,” <a href="http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/climate_pbs_watts/">stating that</a>, “This is the kind of reporting we expect from Fox News, not <span class="caps">PBS</span>.”</p>
<p>Very true, this is exactly the type of reporting <a href="http://www.outfoxed.org/">we've come to expect out of Rupert Murdoch's Fox News</a>, a cable “news” network that <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fox_News">provides a voice for right-wing propagandists</a> on all policy issues, including <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/11/18/372313/yes-virginia-fox-news-lies-about-climate-change/?mobile=nc">climate change denial</a>. But perhaps expectations are too high for <em><span class="caps">PBS</span></em>' “Newshour” and we should've expected exactly what we got: a friendly platform for the climate change denying <a href="http://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/">merchants of doubt</a>. </p>
<p>What's at play here goes above and beyond a single bad story by “Newshour.” Rather, it's a small piece and the result of an aggressive campaign that's been going on for nearly two decades to destroy public television in the public interest.</p>
<p>Based on the shift in how the “Newshour” has funded itself over the years, it's evident that the once-esteemed ”<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/history.html">MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour</a>” streamed on the Public Broadcasting System has transformed <span class="caps">PBS</span> into what investigative reporter Greg Palast calls the “<a href="http://www.gregpalast.com/the-petroleum-broadcast-systemowes-us-an-apology/">Petroleum Broadcasting System</a>.”</p>
<!--break-->
<h3>
“Petroleum Broadcasting System” Sponsored by Chevron, Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Et Al </h3>
<p>In an October 2010 story, Palast pointed out that the “Newshour” is <a href="http://www.gregpalast.com/the-petroleum-broadcast-systemowes-us-an-apology/">funded by Chevron</a> in critiquing its softball coverage of the <span class="caps">BP</span> oil disaster. This led him to refer to <span class="caps">PBS</span> as the “<a href="http://www.gregpalast.com/the-petroleum-broadcast-systemowes-us-an-apology/">Petroleum Broadcasting System</a>.”</p>
<p>Above and beyond funding from Chevron, “Newshour” also lists Burlington Northern Santa Fe (<span class="caps">BNSF</span>), owned by Warren Buffett under the auspices of Berkshire Hathaway, as a <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/">sponsor</a>. As previously reported here on DeSmog, <span class="caps">BNSF</span> - the second largest freight rail company in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> behind Union Pacific - is a <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/warren-buffett-exposed-oracle-omaha-and-tar-sands">major transporter of tar sands infrastucture</a> to the Alberta tar sands. It's also a major mover of <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/b-c-protest-saturday-stop-warren-buffett-s-bnsf-coal-trains">coal being sent to coastal terminals</a> and exported to Asia.</p>
<p><span class="caps">BNSF</span> also <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/print-edition/2012/06/22/bnsf-railway-co-inks-deal-with-us.html?page=all">inked a deal</a> in June 2012 with <a href="http://www.ussilica.com/about"><span class="caps">U.S.</span> Silica Holdings Inc.</a> to “build and run a major warehousing operation…to store sand destined for the Eagle Ford Shale.” The Texas-based <a href="http://www.chron.com/business/article/Eagle-Ford-a-contender-for-top-U-S-play-3742422.php">Eagle Ford Shale basin</a>, like all shale basins, requires vast amounts of fracking sand (aka sillica sand) in order to tap into the gas located deep within the shale reservoir. This sand predominantly comes from western Wisconsin's “<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sand-land-frac-sand-mining-western-wisconsin-video-report-desmogblog">sand land</a>,” as we explained in a recent short documentary.</p>
<p>The <em>San Antonio Business Journal</em> <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/print-edition/2012/06/22/bnsf-railway-co-inks-deal-with-us.html?page=all">explained the situation in-depth</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The proposed facility, scheduled to open in early 2013, will be constructed on 290 acres of land the railroad purchased late last year. It will be able to store up to 15,000 tons of sand used by drillers during the hydraulic fracturing process to release oil and gas from dense shale rock.</p>
<p>The Fort Worth-based railway will haul up to 40,000 tons of silica sand and other products per month to San Antonio from <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Silica operations in Ottawa, Ill., and Rochelle, Ill.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To top it off, Buffett himself has major personal investments in Big Oil, <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/warren-buffett-exposed-oracle-omaha-and-tar-sands">as we've written about on DeSmog</a>. As of August 2011, he owned 29.1 million shares of stock in ConocoPhillips, 421,800 shares of stock in ExxonMobil, and 7.777 million shares of stock in General Electric, all three of which are involved in various aspects of the tar sands extraction industry and the shale gas extraction industry.</p>
<p>In sum, <span class="caps">BNSF</span> is cashing in big time from the shale gas boom, the tar sands boom, and the coal export boom. </p>
<p>Koch Industries - a <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-institute-manifestation-kochtopus-empire">major Heartland Institute funder and key behind its founding</a> - has also funded <span class="caps">PBS</span>' “<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/09/07/206688/pbs-ombudsman-michael-getler-whitewashes-the-koch-funded-greenwashing-episode-of-nova-that-whitewashes-the-threat-of-human-caused-climate-change/">Nova</a>” to the tune of $7 million. ExxonMobil <a href="http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/exxonmobil-resumes-its-pbs-sponsorship/">has also provided funds </a>to <span class="caps">PBS</span>' “Nova,” “Nightly Business Report” and “Masterpiece Theatre.” Both <a href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/maps.php">ExxonMobil</a> and <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/">Koch Industries</a> are among the top funders of the climate change denial machine.</p>
<h3>
The Plan: Cut Public Funding, Make <span class="caps">PBS</span> Rely on Fossil Fuel Industry Money</h3>
<p>Looking at the situation more broadly, it's important to understand that <span class="caps">PBS</span> didn't <em>always</em> rely on fossil fuel industry largesse to keep itself afloat.</p>
<p>Rather, over the past two decades, <span class="caps">PBS</span> has been <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/15-9">under attack by the Republican Party</a>, with constant threats and a coordinated campaign to defund a network originally set up to be a public educational service via the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Broadcasting_Act_of_1967">Public Broadcasting Act of 1967</a>.</p>
<p>As explained in a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/15-9">February 2011 <em><span class="caps">ABC</span> News</em> story</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of Newt Gingrich's first acts as speaker of the House in 1995 was to call for the elimination of federal funding for <span class="caps">CPB</span>, and for the privatization of public broadcasting. Neither attempt was successful, though it did keep the hot-button issue in the limelight for years. </p>
<p>During the early 2011 budget debates, <em><span class="caps">ABC</span> </em>explained that “The House Republicans' budget would rescind any funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – which partially supports these two organizations – for the remainder of the year, and zero out millions in funds after that.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>President Barack Obama joined in on the attack on public television with his “bipartisan deficit commission” – referred to as the “<a href="http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/08/26/dear-president-obama-time-to-can-the-catfood-commission/">Catfood Commission</a>” by <em>FireDogLake</em> – calling for “eliminating funding for the <span class="caps">CPB</span>, estimating that it would save the government $500 million in 2015,” <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/15-9"><em><span class="caps">ABC</span> </em>explained</a>. His Republican Party opponent for the 2012 presidential race, Mitt Romney, has also <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/15/mitt-romney-tax-cuts_n_1778429.html">called for the defunding of <span class="caps">PBS</span></a>.</p>
<p>Private funding of what was originally supposed to be a publicly-funded television station comes with its own agenda. This agenda departs from the <a href="http://www.cpb.org/aboutpb/act/PublicBroadcastingAct1967.pdf">mission set out by the 1967 Act</a>, which deemed it “in the public interest to encourage the growth and development of public…television broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes” and said it “should be created…to afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/business/media/19newshour.html"><em>The New York Times</em> said it best</a> in a May 2008 story: benevolent corporate underwriting of public television is “increasingly out of step with the…needs of corporations” as they don't “sponsor public television programs for purely philanthropic reasons.”</p>
<h3>
Plenty of Money for <span class="caps">PSYOP</span>s Campaigns Abroad</h3>
<p>Even <span class="caps">PBS</span> President Paula Kerger has internalized the message that the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> government is “broke,” <a href="http://www.current.org/2012/07/house-labor-hhs-proposal-would-slash-pubcasting-funding-zero-it-out-in-fy15/">stating</a> after the latest attempt to defund <span class="caps">NPR</span> by House Republicans, “While we understand the many difficult decisions appropriators must make and that the nation is facing challenging economic times, if enacted, such drastic cuts in federal funding could have a devastating effect on public television stations.”</p>
<p>Far from being strapped for cash, though, the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> government has plenty of money to spend on overseas psychological operations (<span class="caps">PSYOP</span>s) campaigns around the world of the sort <a href="http://desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities">covered by DeSmog</a> during the <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/7153:fracking-and-psychological-operations-empire-comes-home">shale gas industry's <span class="caps">PSYOP</span>s revelation</a> of November 2011.<br /><br />
Media scholar Bob McChesney <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/7/as_public_broadcasting_and_community_media">explained this phenomenon</a> in a March 2011 <em>Democracy Now! </em>appearance, during the middle of the previous round of <span class="caps">PBS</span> funding cuts debate in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> House of Representatives:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You know, currently the United States spends roughly twice as much money bankrolling international broadcasting — Voice of America and the various Radio Martís and things like that — than it does paying for domestic public broadcasting and community broadcasting, roughly twice as much — $750 million, roughly, last year. And the idea of raising that and putting more propaganda out to sort of enhance the view of the United States vis-à-vis other nations of the world is entirely the wrong way to go. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>That $750 million is more than the $500 President Obama said the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> could save by slashing publicly-funded media. In leiu of public funding, American citizens are being shafted with fossil fuel-funded disinformation here at home, while subsidizing it with their tax dollars abroad. </p>
<p>Unless we see big changes in funding for public television, it'll continue to be a standard operating procedure for outlets like <span class="caps">PBS</span> to transform into iterations of the newfangled “Petroleum Broadcasting System” - and to end where we began - play the game of “Whose bread I eat his song I sing.”</p>
<p><strong>Image Credit</strong>: <em><a href="http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/climate_pbs_watts/">Forecast the Facts</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8218">Forecast the Facts</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9289">Sand Land</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9264">Frac Sand</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5133">fracking</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10199">coal export boom</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9267">Shale Gas Boom</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10200">tar sands boom</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10216">Radio Marti</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10202">Catfood Commission</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3350">Anthony Watts</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5081">Merchants of Doubt</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5075">BP oil spill</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/657">ExxonMobil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10203">U.S. Silica Holdings Inc.</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10204">San Antonio Business Journal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1270">Newt Gingrich</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/850">abc news</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2632">tar sands</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/oil-sands">oil sands</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5565">shale gas</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7277">shale oil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7759">Eagle Ford Shale</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7461">Warren Buffett</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10205">FireDogLake</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10206">Corporation for Public Broadcasting</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4103">republican party</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7666">psyops</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8901">Psychological Operations</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7650">psychological warfare</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10207">DeSmogBlog PSYOPs</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10208">DeSmogBlog Psychological Operations</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8958">coal exports</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10209">Coal Exports Asia</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/general-electric">General electric</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5127">conocophillips</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/chevron">chevron</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8244">BNSF</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2509">alberta tar sands</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10210">Berkshire Northern Santa Fe</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8765">President Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/821">Heartland Institute</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/rupert-murdoch">rupert murdoch</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/627">Fox News</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7463">Berkshire Hathaway</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8265">Union Pacific</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10211">Freight Rail Fossil Fuel Transport</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8662">Greg Palast</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10212">MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10213">Petroleum Broadcasting System</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10214">Bob McChesney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9856">Democracy Now!</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10215">Voice of America</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10217">Public Broadcasting System</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10180">PBS</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10218">Whose bread I eat his song I sing</a></div></div></div>Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:14:25 +0000Steve Horn6528 at http://www.desmogblog.comHeartland Institute Joins Rahm Emanuel's Side of the Picket Line in Chicagohttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/11/heartland-institute-joins-rahm-emanuel-s-side-picket-line-chicago
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/7974675435_ae05f5131c.jpeg?itok=ddutHNgo" width="200" height="130" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Inspired by her father Sam's experience striking with the United Mine Workers and the National Miners' Union in 1931, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Reece">Florence Reece</a> asked her other workers - by way of singing - “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzudto-FA5Y">Which Side Are You On?</a>” The more things change, it appears, the more they stay the same. </p>
<p>On Monday, the Chicago Teachers' Union (<span class="caps">CTU</span>) went on strike and made its demands for Chicago Public Schools (<span class="caps">CPS</span>) known in a 46-page document titled, “<a href="http://www.ctunet.com/blog/text/SCSD_Report-02-16-2012-1.pdf">The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve</a>,” which also has a <a href="http://www.ctunet.com/quest-center/research/text/Deserve_summary.pdf">one-page summary</a>.</p>
<p>“Some of the main sticking points,” the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10/mitt-romney-chicago-teachers-union-strike_n_1870942.html"><em>Huffington Post</em> explained</a>, “are teachers' pay, health benefits and job security under a new performance evaluation system.” That “performance evaluation system” is none other than <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/03/20/obama-s-war-on-schools.html">President Obama's “Race to the Top.”</a></p>
<p>The third biggest school district in the United States, <a href="http://boldprogressives.org/chicagos-teachers-just-went-on-strike-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-why/">some 29,000 <span class="caps">CPS</span> teachers and school workers</a>, have formed a picket line in a move reverberating around the country and the world. The strike <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/blog-summaries/248455-romney-disappointed-with-chicago-teachers-union">will likely become major election season fodder</a>, since Chicago Mayor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel">Rahm Emanuel</a> is Obama's former Chief-of-Staff and a <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/09/05/rahm-emanuel-shifts-to-obama-fundraising/">major Super <span class="caps">PAC</span> fundraiser for Obama's 2012 campaign</a>, a task he's <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/80988.html">temporarily halted </a>in the wake of the <span class="caps">CTU</span> strike.</p>
<p>So which side has the Chicago-based Heartland Institute taken in this struggle?<br /><!--break--><br />
The <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-institute">Heartland Institute</a>'s is best known for its climate change denial agenda, well documented here on DeSmog as part of “<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-institute-exposed-internal-documents-unmask-heart-climate-denial-machine">Heartland Exposed</a>.” Heartland is also heavily invested, literally and figuratively, in developing a curriculum for K-12 schools that presents climate science as “a major scientific controversy,” as <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/02/14/425354/internal-documents-climate-denier-heartland-institute-plans-global-warming-curriculum-for-k-12-schools/">revealed by <em>Think Progress</em></a>. </p>
<p>What's most important to remember is that <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/was-scott-walker-chosen-headline-heartland-institute-gala-due-his-bradley-foundation-ties">the Heartland Institute is heavily bankrolled by the right-wing Bradley Foundation</a>. Along with funding from the “<a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/from-local-roots-bradley-foundation-builds-conservative-empire-k7337pb-134187368.html">Bradley Empire</a>” comes an agenda extending above and beyond climate change denial.</p>
<p>Given Bradley's history of <a href="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/file_237.pdf">funding research</a>, <a href="http://allenruff.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html">development and implementation</a> of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/National_Association_of_Charter_School_Authorizers">charter school agenda</a>, it's no surprise that the Heartland Institute has chosen Emanuel's side of the picket line.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Mayor Rahm Emanuel has an opportunity for a heroic moment, standing up for the city’s overburdened taxpayers the way President Reagan did against the air traffic controllers’ union shortly after taking office,” Heartland's Director of Research, <span class="caps">S.T.</span> Karnick <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/9/prweb9886269.htm">stated in a press release</a>. “Whether Emanuel has the nerve and strength of principle to do the right thing may well determine whether the city recovers from the economic downturn or goes the way of dying places such as Detroit and Cleveland.”</p>
<p>Republican Party candidate for President Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan have also applauded Emanuel's anti-teacher, anti-union stance. </p>
<p>“I am disappointed by the decision of the Chicago Teachers Union to turn its back on not only a city negotiating in good faith but also the hundreds of thousands of children relying on the city’s public schools to provide them a safe place to receive a strong education,” <a href="http://www.mittromney.com/news/press/2012/09/mitt-romney-chicago-teachers-union-turning-its-back-families-relying-public-schoo">Romney stated in a press release</a>. “Teachers unions have too often made plain that their interests conflict with those of our children, and today we are seeing one of the clearest examples yet.”</p>
<p>“Rahm and I have not agreed on every issue or on a lot of issues, but Mayor Emanuel is right today in saying that this teacher's union strike is unnecessary and wrong,” Ryan <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/09/ryan-embraces-rahm-despite-rebuff-on-teacher-strike-135096.html">said in a speech</a>. “We know that Rahm is not going to support our campaign, but on this issue and this day we stand with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.”</p>
<p><em>The Wall Street Journal </em>Editorial Board <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443884104577645282838464276.html">has also applauded Emanuel</a>, who Chicago activists refer to as “<a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Mayor-1-Catches-On-137582313.html">Mayor 1%</a>,” with a <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/12/president-barack-obama-wealth.html">net worth of over $11 million</a>. <em>The Journal</em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443921504577643401868728684.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">went so far to pose the question</a>, “Has Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel met Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker?” <br /><br />
“If he hasn't, we'd be glad to mediate a call,” <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443921504577643401868728684.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">wrote <em>The Journal</em></a>. “Mr. Emanuel can help the cause of education reform nationwide if he shows some Walker-like gumption.”</p>
<p>All Emanuel needs, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443921504577643401868728684.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">wrote <em>The Journal</em></a> - a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wall_Street_Journal">newspaper owned by News Corporation</a>, which, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Fox_News">like Fox News</a>, is <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/News_Corporation">owned by Rupert Murdoch</a> (of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-scheer/news-corp-murdoch-gate_b_902270.html">Murdoch-gate</a> fame) - is some courage of the scale displayed by Walker during the <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/06/10860/walker%E2%80%99s-union-busting-law-takes-effect-wisconsin-governor-can%E2%80%99t-escape-his-unpop">union-busting Act 10 days</a>. Act 10 is the bill that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Uprising-Wisconsin-Renewed-Politics-Protest/dp/1568587031">inspired an Uprising</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scott_Walker#2012_Recall_Election_and_Contradictory_Statements_Made_by_Walker_about_Collective_Bargaining">an eventual recall election</a>. </p>
<p>John Matthews, President of <a href="http://www.madisonteachers.org/">Madison Teachers, Inc.</a>, one of the <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/154223/how_the_wisconsin_uprising_changed_america_and_why_its_renegade_politics_are_here_to_stay?page=0%2C3">key unions involved in the Wisconsin Uprising</a> against Walker's Act 10, sees the battle against Emanuel's education policies and the battle against Walker's education policies as the same side of the same coin.</p>
<p>“Their fight is really our fight,” <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/their-fight-is-really-our-fight-wisconsin-unions-support-striking/article_15051bf2-fb99-11e1-993a-001a4bcf887a.html#.UE82-P_u_mg.facebook">he told the <em>Wisconsin State Journal</em></a>. “Whether we're talking about Scott Walker or Rahm Emmanuel, it's the same thing.” </p>
<h3>
Who Will Obama Side With?</h3>
<p>Will Obama join the picket line with the 28,000 <span class="caps">CTU</span> teachers? Or will he side with Heartland and Bradley?</p>
<p>President Obama has remained silent and <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2012/09/obama_not_taking_sides_in_chic.html">chosen not to take a side</a> thus far, just as he did <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/obama-wisconsin_n_827770.html">with the Wisconsin Uprising</a>. This contradicts a campaign pledge he made prior to his 2008 electoral victory. </p>
<p>“And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I'm in the White House, I'll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself, I will walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America,” <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA9KC8SMu3o">he orated</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA9KC8SMu3o"> at a campaign stump speech in 2007</a>. “Because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.”</p>
<p>Furthermore, one of the most important funding streams for the Democratic Party since the age of former President Bill Clinton has run through the corporate-subsidized <a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Democratic_Leadership_Council">Democratic Leadership Council</a> (<span class="caps">DLC</span>). The <span class="caps">DLC</span> is <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050401152248/http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?recipientID=449">heavily funded by the Bradley Foundation</a> via its <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/11285-the-people-behind-the-parties-and-the-democratic-party-at-the-dnc">think-tank wing</a>, the <a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Progressive_Policy_Institute">Progressive Policy Institute</a> (<span class="caps">PPI</span>). Bradley has also <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040805032539/http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?recipientID=2355">heavily funded</a> the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Third_Way_Foundation">Third Way Foundation</a>, which oversees both the <span class="caps">DLC</span> and <span class="caps">PPI</span>. The “third way” ideology has been <a href="http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2011/07/the-federal-deficit-messposner.html">embraced by Obama, just as it was by Clinton</a>.</p>
<p>The answer to Reece's age-old question as it applies to Obama, then, is an obvious one: follow his policy agenda thus far and don't forget to follow the money.</p>
<p>Perhaps this is why the <span class="caps">CTU</span> feels as if there's nowhere else to turn but the picket line to redress its grievances and show the world which side it is on.</p>
<p><strong>Photo Credit</strong>: <a href="http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/author/kgosztola/">Kevin Gosztola</a> | <a href="http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/09/10/chicago-teacher-on-why-hes-striking/">FireDogLake</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10106">Chicago Teachers&#039; Union</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8658">Super PAC</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10107">Wisconsin Act 10</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10108">Union-Busting</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10109">Picket Line</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10110">CTU</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10111">Chicago Public Schools</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10112">CPS</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10113">Wisconsin State Journal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10114">John Matthews</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10115">Madison Teachers Inc.</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8439">Heartland Exposed</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6679">Paul Ryan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10116">Charter School Growth Fund</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9914">Michael Grebe</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10117">Arne Duncan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10118">Race to the Top</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10119">No Child Left Behind</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/874">president reagan</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10120">S.T. Karnick</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10121">President Bill Clinton</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8660">Democratic Party</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10122">Democratic Leadership Council</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10123">DLC</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/912">george w. bush</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10124">Third Way Foundation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10125">Third Way ideology</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10126">Progressive Policy Institute</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10127">PPI</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/wall-street-journal">wall street journal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10128">Mayor 1%</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9921">Wisconsin Uprising</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9901">Scott Walker</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9925">Bradley Empire</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7685">Bradley Foundation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/821">Heartland Institute</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/huffington-post">huffington post</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10129">United Mine Workers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10130">The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10131">Florence Reece</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10132">National Miners&#039; Union</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10133">Rahm Emanuel</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10134">Which Side Are You On?</a></div></div></div>Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:56:05 +0000Steve Horn6509 at http://www.desmogblog.com